Tensions and Tea Leaves
by frostykitten
Summary: Who would have thought that one little vision and a few tea leaves could change everything? Certainly not Rose, but after an incident that may have been a glimpse into the future she sees Scorpius in a new light. Could she be a seer or just insane?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**A/N: My first attempt at something non-Dramione! I don't even know how to properly squish their names together... Scrose? Rorpius? I'm a little worried I suck outside of Dramione fics, so if you read it and like it, review? *sadeyes***

**Anyway! This story is completely written, but I've been going over it and editing rather thoroughly. I'm currently correcting chapter 5. I don't have a beta reader for this story yet, so if anyone wants to volunteer, I'd be eternally grateful!**

**~Frosty**

Rose sighed and rested her head on her fist, squinting at the globs of tea leaves in her cup. She supposed that lump of leaves _could _be a Grim... if she really squinted and tilted her head to the right.

Another quiet sigh escaped her lips. Divination was the most boring subject offered at Hogwarts and the barmy professor didn't make it any more enjoyable. She should have listened to her mum when she told her that nothing even _remotely_ useful ever came from that class – except, possibly, a headache from all the incense swirling around in the air. Professor Trelawney wasn't big on moderation in both incense and insanity.

A pale hand reached into her line of vision and snagged her teacup.

"You're either going to die a slow and painful death in the near future..." his voice paused as he flipped through his textbook, "or you're having an affair with your boss."

Her head snapped up and she glared at her friend. "There's no way that's in the textbook!"

Scorpius just smirked and flipped the book around so she could read it as well, his finger indicating the passage he'd read. The textbook really _did _say that. What kind of class told school children that they were having affairs with their bosses? She attended boarding school; Rose didn't even _have _a boss.

"This class is ridiculous," she muttered, earning a chuckle from her friend.

"You're the one who insisted on proving to the world that you're not your mother and dragged me into this class from hell with you," he said. His tone was snide, but his eyes were sparkling with mirth, their mercurial depths lit from behind.

Ignoring him, Rose snatched his teacup out of his hand. He watched with amusement as she squinted at the dregs in the bottom of his cup in much the same way she'd done with her own. The pictures in his were just as unclear as hers had been. It was all soggy blobs of leaves to her.

There was one glob that was vaguely tree shaped... and a crown? Or could it be a peacock? There was another one that could pass for a heart if she really squinted and didn't look directly at it.

The blond at her side waited patiently as she flipped through her textbook. A heart for love, the tree for a close friend, and a crown for unfulfilled desires. Merlin, Divination was a pointless subject. She tried to piece the scraps together into a picture that made sense.

"Okay," she said with false confidence, ignoring his mockingly expectant expression. "You're secretly harbouring an unrequited love for a close friend," her gaze darted back down to her textbook. A second examination made the crown look more like a peacock.

Her eyes, busy with scanning her textbook, failed to notice that her already pale friend had lost what little colour he'd possessed.

By the time she looked back up at him to return his cup, he had managed to compose himself once again. "Is there something you and Albus are keeping from me?" she asked with a grin.

At the glare she received, Rose went back to her second interpretation. That lump probably was a peacock, it made more sense that way.

"Or you're a hopeless narcissist with some sort of obsession with yourself," she declared triumphantly. "That one seems much more likely."

"You're rubbish at this," he scoffed, not quite meeting her eyes.

She bumped his shin with her foot under the table. "You're just as bad, if not worse."

They both watched as Professor Trelawney dramatically predicted the gruesome death of a student on the other side of the room. Her necklaces clacking together as she waved her arms dramatically. The woman thought enthusiasm could make up for her complete lack of an actual gift.

Scorpius leaned close to whisper, "she's rubbish at this as well. She just likes to _think _she's good."

"She's accurately made a few predictions. I've read that some seers only ever have a handful of true glimpses into the future over the course of their lifetime. It's why true prophesies and visions of the future are so rare," Rose defended their Professor. It was more from habit than anything else, everyone knew Trelawney was barmy.

He scoffed, but didn't bother disagreement with her. They'd been having the same argument about Trelawney's credibility since she'd first insisted they both take the elective in third year. Refusing to admit she may have a hatred of the subject in common with her mum, Rose had determinedly attended the class for the next three years, and Scorpius had joined her, despite his protests. He may have complained about going, but Scorpius was a good friend – he also liked the fact that he could take a nap and she'd cover for him because she was the reason he attended the class in the first place.

"You never know, I could be a gifted seer and we wouldn't even know it because I haven't had one of my visions yet," she said.

Scorpius' answer was to burst into loud laughter that made Trelawney frown disapprovingly at him from the other side of the room. Luckily their flighty teacher was distracted by yet another death portent in the form of clumpy leaves before she could reprimand the blond.

They shared a few snickers and poured themselves new glasses of the unpleasant brew so they could start all over again.

"Don't see how a _beverage_ could tell the future," Scorpius muttered under his breath. "I'm going to keep a close eye on my mashed potatoes at dinner in case they have some tidbit of information that could be helpful."

Her head bent over her textbook, Rose didn't hear his mumblings. She was used to ignoring him while he muttered in Divination and rarely listened to what he actually said anymore.

"Rose?" Scorpius asked while they were packing their things. His serious tone made her look up from the large textbook she was trying to shove into her satchel.

"What is it?"

His tone told her he had something important to say, so the redhead gave him her whole attention. She even stopped wrestling with her satchel to listen.

"Remember in second year when I stayed up all night helping you write that essay you forgot about?"

Rose eyed her friend warily. He may have been sorted into Ravenclaw, but that didn't mean he couldn't still have some noticeably Slytherin traits. She _vaguely _remembered that night, and was hoping she was wrong about what he wanted.

"Yes..." she answered hesitantly. The grin that spread across his face at her answer made her start to worry. She was almost _certain _that she wasn't going to like where he was going with his line of questioning.

"And you said you owed me _huge_, but I told you I'd call in the favour at a later date?"

Though she'd been glad back when he said he'd call in his favour at an undetermined, later date, Rose was now seriously regretting her agreement to an open-ended favour.

"Yes."

Scorpius picked up his bag and followed her as the class filed out of the classroom and down the ladder. The rungs were just an accident waiting to happen, and prefects were always chasing away the younger year boys who gathered near the bottom in hopes of a glimpse up one of the girl's skirts. She disliked the trip to the classroom just as much as she disliked the class.

"Let me guess," she said when they were once again able to walk side-by-side. "You're calling in the favour now?"

He nodded his blond head, still grinning.

"I hate Quidditch," she said warningly. Scorpius was captain and seeker of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and he was determined to win the cup. Something about it being his last chance to lead his house team to glory before he graduated or some such nonsense. He'd been complaining about the lack of prospective players for a while and Rose had been dreading this conversation – mostly because she knew that in the end, she'd give in. The Malfoy heir was very persuasive when he wanted to be and Rose could rarely say no to him when he set his mind to something.

Not deterred by her obvious aversion to the game, Scorpius just widened his eyes slightly in an expression as close to a puppy-dog look as a Malfoy would ever get – in public, at least. "Rose, almost the entire team graduated last year. I'm desperate for decent players, and despite your distaste for the sport, you're _good_."

She ignored the compliment. Anyone who had grown up with her family couldn't _not _be good at the sport; it was practically _required _that all the younger Weasleys play the sport at every family gathering. When you spend your childhood playing against professional players like her Aunt Ginny, it was difficult to avoid becoming familiar with the game and even developing a certain knack for it. She wasn't near good enough to go professional or anything, but Rose was skilled enough to do well on a house team at Hogwarts. The problem was she didn't _want _to.

"Do you really want a chaser who isn't devoted to the game?" she asked, desperately grasping at straws.

He waved a dismissive hand. "You hate the game, but I'm your best mate and you don't hate me. Winning this means a lot to me, so you'd play your hardest so I wouldn't be disappointed."

Rose sighed. Sometimes it was irritating that he knew her so well. "One condition," she said, holding up a finger to emphasize her point.

A blond eyebrow rose in question.

"Only use me as a last resort. You still hold tryouts for all three chaser positions and do everything in your power to fill them."

Scorpius smiled. "You're not going to regret this."

"I already do," she mumbled.

* * *

><p>"I don't see why I have to try out with everyone else," Rose muttered irritably. Her eyes ran over the field, taking in the other students who were gathering for a chance to join the Ravenclaw house team.<p>

"Scorpius can't hold tryouts for three chaser positions and then fill one of those spots with someone who didn't even bother to try for the team," Albus said.

Rose glanced over at her cousin, who'd followed her out to the pitch for some strange reason. "You're a Gryffindor, what are you even _doing _here?" she demanded.

Albus shrugged, completely unapologetic. "I'm judging the competition."

She doubted that, he was probably there to make fun of her because she'd been roped into joining the team. Albus was mean like that, amusing himself with his cousin's misfortune.

The cousins watched Scorpius walk onto the field and scan the potential players. Rose wasn't surprised he looked a little disappointed, it seemed that every second year that could ride a broom had turned up, but few older students were present.

"Oi! No rival houses on the pitch," Scorpius called when he caught sight of Albus.

Albus smirked at his friend. Despite the rivalry between their fathers, Albus and Scorpius became close friends. "I'll just go back to the _Head Dorms_ and finish up some homework while I wait for Rose."

Since the Head Girl and Boy had to come from different houses, it was impossible for Rose and Scorpius to hold both positions. It was a bit of a sore spot with the blond that Albus had been given the position – and the private dorm shared with the Head Girl – when Scorpius actually had the better grades. Had he been sorted into Slytherin like his father, Scorpius would have been the one in boasting a shiny Head Boy pin.

Rose elbowed her cousin for trying to rile their friend.

"I'm going," Albus said, bending under the combined weight of his friend's glares.

Glaring at the retreating back of the Gryffindor, Scorpius made his way across the field to stand beside Rose.

"Stop looking at me like that, I'm not hurt that I didn't get Head Boy," he muttered, correctly reading her face.

The moment Albus had shown her the badge that his Hogwarts letter had included, she'd been worried what Scorpius would think of the situation. His two best mates were living in a private dorm while he had to stay far away in the Ravenclaw tower. He could visit them, but he always had to go back to the Ravenclaw dorms. Rose felt slightly guilty that he wasn't chosen for the position of Head Boy only because she was Head Girl.

Instead of insisting once again that he was, in fact fine, Scorpius looked out at the Ravenclaws that had assembled in hopes of gaining a spot on the team. "We're here to fill three chaser positions, one beater and keeper. Divide yourselves into groups!" he called loudly. "This is going to be a long practice," he said more quietly, so that only Rose could hear.

Three hours later, it was starting to get dark and Rose was in complete agreement with her friend's assessment. There were a few promising players, but it would take a lot of work to get the Ravenclaw team up to the standards of the previous year's team.

She slanted her eyes over to look at her friend. Scorpius was rubbing his temple tiredly with one hand while glaring at the clipboard clutched in his other one. "You're in the next group to go," he said, sounding like he just wanted to go to bed.

"Cheer up captain, you'll pull a team together," Rose comforted. The blond just shot her an inpatient look.

A piercing screech from the whistle Scorpius had conjured blasted instead of a response. Her efforts were so underappreciated sometimes.

Grabbing her broom, Rose moved to stand with the other two chasers that she was going to work with for her tryout. Scorpius was making them play mock games against each other, with the better ones going again for a second round once he'd narrowed his choices.

The redheaded twins shot Rose identical venomous glares. Internally, Rose winced, praying that they wouldn't be the ones to get onto the team. They _hated _her.

The previous group landed when Scorpius blew his whistle – something she was going to confiscate from him if she had to listen to the thing much more. Captain or not, she wasn't going to let it go to his head.

Rose scowled as she threw a leg over her broom and prepared to launch herself into the air. Sure, flying was fun, but she preferred to keep her feet firmly on the ground and her nose in a book. She just wasn't competitive like her dad and brother were when it came to the sport. There were so many more important things to get all worked up about, like _grades_.

Dad had told her on a few occasions that she needed to sort out her priorities, but her mum would always just hit him, usually with a book, as they were always on hand.

That blasted whistle blew once again, signalling it was time to begin the match. Rose watched as one of the opposing chasers caught hold of the Quaffle and zoomed towards the goalposts. Like a rocket, Rose launched herself after the boy, making sure to keep an eye on the beater that seemed to have a habit of accidentally batting the Bludgers at players on his own team instead of the opposition.

Catching up to the racing chaser, she bumped him with her broom, deftly knocked the Quaffle out of his hands. Her grip tightened as she whipped around to race towards the other side of the field. She dodged the other players who tried to stop her progress and managed to get the Quaffle past the sub-par keeper guarding the hoops, a victorious smile on her face. The sport may be barbaric, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy winning.

She was just about to turn around and face the rest of the field once more when her vision started to darken around the edges and her awareness of her surroundings lessened. A strange jolt and then a vague pain was the last thing she felt before she was completely surrounded by featureless blackness.

_Rose looked around, a little confused about where she was. Hadn't she been playing Quidditch? She was still on the Quidditch pitch, but that was about the only thing that made sense._

_There was snow on the ground. It had been September, barely fall when she'd been on the pitch a moment ago. Where was her broom? And there had been many other people, but here she was alone._

_Wait! No, she wasn't alone. Rose squinted her eyes at the two figures in the distance, trying to figure out if she knew them, or if they could help her understand what it was that had happened. She started jogging towards the far-off figures. _

_As she got closer, she realized that she knew those people out there in the snow. It was Scorpius! And... her? _

_Immensely confused, Rose came to a stop and stared at herself and her friend. They didn't seem to notice that she was there – they didn't seem to notice much at all. The pair was busy staring deep into the other's eyes with their arms twined around one another. They were speaking, but Rose didn't understand what they were saying, it was garbled. Scorpius was intently watching that other Rose while he told her something. The other Rose's eyebrows were furrowed, whether in confusion or some other emotion, Rose wasn't sure._

_It had to be some sort of dream. That was the only explanation that made sense._

_She tilted her head, catching sight of her double's hair. Did it really look like that from the back? _

_All thoughts of her hair disappeared when Scorpius suddenly grabbed that other Rose's shoulders and shook her slightly, yelling something. Never one to lose his cool easily, it took a lot to make Scorpius so upset. Rose wasn't sure she'd ever seen him show that much emotion in all the years she'd known him. She would have doubted her ability to evoke that much emotion in him if she wasn't witnessing it with her own eyes._

_Rose wondered what her dream double had done to make him so distraught._

_She felt a jolt of surprise when that other Rose suddenly turned and stared at the exact spot she was standing. Could they see her? Rose stared hard at the back of her duplicate's head, but the girl gave no other indication that she knew they had an audience._

_It happened so fast that she was rendered completely frozen in shock. Dream Rose reached out and flung her arms around Scorpius' neck, kissing him fiercely. Even more surprising was that he responded with equal, if not more emotion._

_Scorpius pulled away first, to the obvious discontent of Dream Rose. He tucked a strand of hair behind the other Rose's ear. On his face was an expression of heartbreaking tenderness. _

_Something twisted in her stomach; he never looked at her that way in real life. Rose found that she _wanted _him to look at her that way in real life._

_Dream Rose leaned into his touch as his hand lingered near her cheek, while real Rose had to turn her face away, feeling like she was intruding on a private moment. Which was ridiculous, because it was _her _that she was watching._

"ROSE!"

When she next opened her eyes, it was once again the correct season and Scorpius was leaning over her with an almost frantic expression. She tried to sit up to reassure him that she was fine, but a blinding pain bloomed in her back.

Ow. Her face paled and pinched as pain blasted over her nerves.

"Stay down," her blond friend said, looking less frantic now that she was awake. There was still a manic glint in his eyes and he was obviously putting in an effort to keep his eyes on her face, meaning her injury was pretty serious. He put a hand on each of her shoulders and gently pressed her back to the ground. "You spaced out for a minute or something and were hit in the back with a Bludger. Then you fell off your broom," her explained, answering the question in her eyes. For some reason, she was having trouble catching her breath properly, which was making it difficult to speak.

"What's going on here?" Madam Pomfrey demanded as she pushed aside the students that had gathered around Rose and Scorpius. One of the chaser applicants had flown off to fetch the Mediwitch as soon as he saw the Head Girl fall to the ground.

Scorpius moved aside, allowing the Mediwitch space to work. The old woman made a 'tut' sound as she looked over Rose, muttering about the 'barbaric sport'.

"Is she going to be all right?" Scorpius asked while Rose groaned in pain. He started to follow as Rose was levitated back towards the school, but Madam Pomfrey was fed up with his hovering.

"Mister Malfoy! You may visit her in the Hospital Wing when you finish your practice," she snipped.

Scowling after the witch, Scorpius turned back to the gathered students on the field.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! You guys are awesome. Also thanks to thestarlitrose and Myno.1fan for their beta work. This chapter is infinitely better than it was before they got at it.**

**Sorry this took so long, but school's started up again and everything's kind of crazy.**

**~Frosty**

Rose shifted uncomfortably on the lumpy infirmary bed. Her back was healed, but a strange, achy numbness remained. Apparently she had suffered rather extensive damage when a Bludger had hit her. She'd been trapped in her own mind at the time, so she hadn't even tried to dodge the dangerous projectile. The nasty injury to her back had only been worsened by the fall to the ground that immediately followed the impact.

Madam Pomfrey had sternly ordered her to take it easy for a few days, but she was going to make a full recovery. Judging from the look the Healer had worn the entire time she'd been tending to Rose, she thought Quidditch just as barbaric as Rose did.

Rose had tried to tell the woman that she wholeheartedly agreed with that assessment, but she'd been sternly shushed and told to rest.

In an effort to ease some of the weight resting on her newly-healed wound, she flipped over to lay on her front. The movement jostled her head and made it start pounding in time with the beats of her heart. She really needed some stronger pain potions, but Madam Pomfrey was notorious for being sparing with the pain potions. The Mediwitch lived with the assumption that students complained of pain just to get more potions.

A first year came in wailing about a splinter or something else equally harmless, snapping Rose out of her reverie. She clenched her teeth in irritation and pulled her pillow over her head. The thin foam didn't really do much to muffle the sound, but it made her feel a little better.

A soft touch on her ankle made her peek out from under the pillow. Scorpius was standing beside her bed. He had an unfamiliar, unreadable look in his eyes.

It was odd seeing him again after that dream thing she'd had on the Quidditch pitch. She kept glancing back at his eyes to see if there was any of the tenderness and affection that she'd seen before. Rose was worried that what she'd seen was going to make their friendship awkward. She _couldn't _lose her friendship with Scorpius, it was too important. Through force of will, she made herself act normally and stop searching his eyes for something she wasn't going to see.

"Are you all right?" he asked in a clipped tone.

Rose was starting to get a little worried. Scorpius rarely hid his emotions from her so completely. There was usually a flash in his eyes of what he was feeling behind that blank mask.

"I ache a little, but I'm healed. Madam Pomfrey says I have to spend the night here."

He still wasn't showing emotion, Rose felt a bit like she was talking to a statue. The idiot wasn't blaming himself for coercing her into joining the team, was he? Rose winced as she rolled herself onto her back again and pushed herself into a sitting position. If he was being so monumentally stupid, then she was going to need to face him fully so she could tell him how much of an idiot he was.

"Scorpius?" Rose prodded, reaching over to take his hand. His fingers stayed limp in her grasp.

Her touch seemed to jolt him out of whatever trance he'd fallen into. He tightened his hand around her smaller one and bent down slightly so their faces were closer.

"What the hell _happened _to you out there? You were just _sitting there_ on your broom. I know you don't like the game, but to throw your tryout like that? You could have been _killed_!"

When Scorpius was really angry, he had a habit of lowering his voice and spitting his words in a hiss. It was scarier than yelling would ever be. There was always so much venom in his voice and he was so precise with his insults. When he wanted to, he could cut people with his words as if they were a razor.

"If I was trying to throw the tryout would I have scored a goal first?" she snapped, irritated with his assumptions. Just because she hadn't been there on her own free will didn't mean she wasn't going to try her best. Rose knew Quidditch was important to Scorpius, so she would play her best to make him happy, and here he was accusing her of trying to weasel out of it? She was actually hurt that he thought so little of her.

The blond had the grace to look abashed. The air seemed to go out of him and he sat at the end of her bed, sagging a little in the shoulders. "Do you have any idea how worried I was when you just fell out of the sky?"

He hadn't released her hand. His fingers were tightly wrapped around hers, as if he was trying to reassure himself that she was okay through the contact.

"I didn't do it on purpose," she mumbled.

"What happened?"

Rose flashed back to the vision she'd had of them together. Had that been their future or just some kind of hallucination brought on by bad pumpkin juice at breakfast? Whether the vision was true or not, it had planted the idea of a romantic relationship with Scorpius in her head. She wasn't sure if she could act like everything was the same after seeing them so happy and... loving. That's what they'd been; loving.

Rose glanced at his eyes again before looking away. There was concern, but none of the tenderness from the dream.

"It was nothing." The sentence was as much to convince herself as it was an answer to his question. It had been nothing and _nothing _could change between them.

The slight tightening of his jaw told her he knew she was lying and was upset about it, but wasn't willing to press the matter. Scorpius knew when pushing for more information would only make her clam up and go on the defensive.

More than anything, Rose wanted to just blurt it out, but how was she supposed to tell him that she'd dreamed they were together and wasn't entirely opposed to the idea? She had looked so _happy _with him, and a large part of her wanted that happiness.

Rose looked at Scorpius again. He was staring back at her, once again expressionless. There was no way he cared about her as more than a friend. He was _Scorpius Malfoy_, his past girlfriends were a parade of the prettiest girls in the school and Rose was just, well, Rose.

The silence that stretched between them was just beginning to get uncomfortable when Scorpius stood up. His sharp eyes stared at her for a long moment before he pulled his hand from hers. He reached and smoothed down her unruly mass of hair. There was a pause while he seemed to be debating whether to say something, but she watched him shake his head as the indecision faded from his eyes.

"I'm glad you're all right," he finally murmured, turning and heading towards the exit. "And welcome to the team," he added once he was almost out the door.

Rose's sound of protest was cut off as he shut the heavy wood behind him.

Her blue eyes narrowed in irritation. She hadn't even played a single game and she was already in the infirmary, yet he put her on the team and didn't stick around long enough to let her voice her protests? Did he really want to win _that_ much? That, more than anything, told her that what she'd seen was a hallucination and not a vision. Scorpius cared about her, but she was just one of the guys to him.

If he thought a female worthy of his affections, wouldn't he be protective of her, wanting to keep her _away _from danger? Instead he was willingly putting her in one of the most dangerous pastimes in the wizarding word – practically against her will.

It hurt a little that someone so close to her had failed to notice that she was even female.

Forcefully, she pushed away the hurt. What she needed was a distraction; someone to keep her mind away from inappropriate thoughts about her best mate.

* * *

><p>"What'd you do to Scorpius?" were the first words out of Albus' mouth when Rose got back to the Head Dorms in the morning. She just had time to have a quick shower and change her clothes before she had to get to Charms.<p>

"I don't know what you're talking about," Rose said, irritated that he was wasting the little time she had to get ready. It didn't help that she was still a little stiff from her recent injury. Every time she bent down or to the side, her back would give a twinge of pain. The poor night's sleep she'd had in the uncomfortable and drafty Hospital Wing only added to her foul mood.

"I'm talking about our blond friend coming here last night and having some kind of fit. I couldn't even get a coherent sentence out of him." He nodded his head towards a red-brown smudge on the stone wall. "The idiot punched a wall. I had to stun him before he would settle down."

Rose looked from the smudge to her cousin and back again. "Don't be ridiculous. Scorpius doesn't get that worked up about anything."

It was true; she hadn't _ever_ seen Scorpiusso angry that he lashed out at something physically. He was more the type to use words to tear apart his opponents, and on the rare occasion when that failed, he'd use magic. The boy had an impressive repertoire of nasty curses. He'd once told her it was a requirement when one was a Malfoy.

Albus' green eyes narrowed into a glare. "He does, you just never see it. The one thing that can throw him into a fit is _you_ and _I'm _the one who always has to deal with him when he's like that!"

Completely baffled and a little disbelieving, Rose walked over to the copper-coloured smudge and leaned in close to examine it. Scorpius had always said that punching was for Muggles and thugs, wizards had _magic _for that sort of thing.

Albus wouldn't lie to her about something so serious, but it was hard to imagine Scorpius getting so distraught that he'd _punched _something. And over _her_?

She reached a hand to touch the smudge. It was rather large, she was worried about the damage he'd done to his hand on impact.

"You need to talk to him Rose. He blames himself for your injury."

Snatching her hand back from the wall, the redhead whipped around to face her cousin. "If he's so torn up about this, then why did he make me join the team anyway?" she demanded.

Albus raised an eyebrow. "Would you really have let him keep you off the team just because you got hurt once and it could happen again?"

Well, when he put it that way... she would have yelled at Scorpius if he had pulled such a chauvinistic move. There were younger girls playing on the house teams, and they stood just as much of a chance of getting injured as she did. The seeker for the Hufflepuff team was a third year who was _so_ tiny, she could probably pass for a ten year old is she wanted to.

There was a thin, blurry line between being protected and being coddled that Rose couldn't always keep straight in her mind. She could hardly expect other people to know those lines. It was surprising that Scorpius had guessed right, though she wished he'd explained his reasoning to her. It would have saved her the upset when she had worried he didn't think of her as a girl.

Catching sight of the clock, she rushed past her cousin. "I have to get to Charms; I'll talk to him in Divination."

* * *

><p>The smoky atmosphere of the Divination room never ceased to get on Rose's nerves. She was all for ambiance, but when the incense smell choked everyone and inhibited coherent brain function, it was obviously <em>too<em> heavy. Professor Trelawney should have seriously considered a few scented candles instead of the heavy incense she tended to favour. Rose felt on the verge of a coughing fit because of all the smoke swirling around the room.

Her eyes went once again to the empty seat beside her. Scorpius was going to be late if he didn't show up in the next few minutes. It would be just her luck if he didn't attend class when she really needed to talk to him.

Just as the Professor was calling the class to order, Scorpius rushed through the trapdoor and into his seat. He managed to walk right past her without acknowledging that he'd seen her. It was like he was hoping she wouldn't talk to him.

Well, _that _wasn't going to happen.

"I was starting to think you weren't going to show up," Rose whispered to him. Trelawney was gesticulating grandly and nattering on about the different ways one can interpret tea leaves and how different flavours of tea could affect the reading.

The blond shrugged, still not looking at her. "I was in the library finishing off the Potions essay that's due next week. Lost track to time."

As he ran his hand through his hair, Rose noticed that his knuckles were pink with freshly-healed skin. Albus had been telling the truth. Not that she had thought he'd lie; it was just startling to see such blatant proof. Did that mean Scorpius really _was_ blaming himself for her injury?

The class poured their tea and waited for it to steep. Rose watched as her friend stared blankly out the window behind her and tapped the fingers of his freshly-healed hand on the table. How could she have not noticed how agitated he was when he had come in to the smoky class?

She reached over and set her hand over his to still the movement. "It's not your fault," she said, meeting his silver eyes. There was only a glimpse of emotion in the mercurial depths before he smothered it behind a sardonic expression.

"I'm a Malfoy, isn't it always my fault?"

Ever since first year, Scorpius had been carrying a chip on his shoulder. Many people in the wizarding world had no problem blaming the son for the sins of the father – and grandfather. He tried to hide it, but this bothered Scorpius to no end and hardened him against new people. Few people were allowed to see past his cold exterior to the person underneath.

"I have _never _put sins that weren't your own on your shoulders. Your last name is just that; a _name_," she hissed quietly. He wasn't the only one who didn't like being judged based on the achievements of her family. Great things were expected from her, and it was sometimes a strain to try and live up to those expectations.

Scorpius glanced at the girls watching them from the nearest table. Apparently she hadn't kept her voice as quiet as she'd intended.

"Tea's done," was all he said. His look clearly told her that they were done with the subject.

They sipped the beverage in silence, Scorpius wincing because he absolutely _despised _the flavour of raspberries.

Rose snatched his cup before he'd even set it down on the table. She barely even glanced at the dregs. "You're being stupid and blaming yourself for an injury to someone close to you, even though she doesn't blame you at all and is completely healed."

If it wouldn't have been completely inappropriate in class, Rose would have turned around and lifted her shirt to show him that her back was as good as new.

His eyes narrowed. "I'm sure your leaves say that Albus needs to learn to keep his bloody mouth shut."

Before she could even open her mouth to protest, the blond turned the full force of his irritated gaze upon her. "I don't want to talk about this," he snapped, pulling his textbook closer and pretending to read it.

After a few more attempts on Rose's part to make conversation, she gave up and they spent the rest of Divination in silence.

* * *

><p>"Why do you look like you lost your best friend?" a dreamy voice asked her at dinner.<p>

Rose looked up from the potatoes she'd been pushing around her plate and into the faraway blue eyes of Lysander Scamander. The boy was a year younger than her, but like many Ravenclaws, was wise beyond his years. He took after his slightly odd mother both in disturbing perceptiveness and in kindness, but the black hair was from his father.

"Because it feels like I have," she sighed. Her blue eyes darted across the hall to where Scorpius sat with his Slytherin friends, a petite brunette could be seen pressing her breasts against his arm as she pretended to reach in front of him. The git hadn't so much as _glanced _at Rose since Divination, which was an impressive task considering they were constantly paired up in nearly every class.

Lysander looked in the direction she was staring. "He's all torn up inside and needs some time to sort himself out," he said.

Rose knew her friend shied away from dealing with strong emotions, instead preferring to hide them away so he didn't have to deal with them. But did he have to shy away from her as well? If he'd let her, she could have helped – and not in the way that slag over at the Slytherin table was.

Rose forced herself to look away as the brunette clinging to her friend suddenly pulled him down for a kiss. If she had been jealous of herself when Scorpius had kissed her in the vision, then it was nothing compared to what she felt when some Slytherin whore was all over her friend like Goyle Junior on a cupcake. What could he possibly see in that girl? Her personality was annoying and abrasive. Rose assumed the girl's only redeeming quality for Scorpius was her breasts.

Her attention was drawn back to the boy beside her when he patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Some space might be good for the two of you. It'll provide some perspective. In the meantime, I suggest going on a date with me."

For a shocked moment, she could only stare at him. Was he serious? She'd always looked at the Scamanders as something of adoptive cousins, so it was strange to think of Lysander as something else.

Lysander seemed to sense some of what was going through her mind. "I understand if you need some time to adjust to the idea. The Giant Squid is great with problems, you could go talk it out with him and then get back to me with an answer."

Rose wasn't sure that the Giant Squid would be of any help to her when it came to matters of the heart, but she did know that she would probably have a good time with Lysander should she decide to go out with him. She glanced one more time at Scorpius and the slag that had latched onto him like a barnacle. There could be no way that he liked Rose as more than a friend when she wasn't even assured of his friendship.

"I don't need the time to think. It would be great to go out with you sometime," she said with a smile.

They made plans for the Hogsmeade trip that weekend. By the time Rose had finished her dinner, she felt a little less miserable about the day she'd had. Who would have thought the severe pain and injury she'd suffered would be the _easy _part of her day?


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**A/N: Hello readers! I've actually had this chapter for a few days... but I forgot I had it! Yeah... I'm an idiot. In my defence, I've been really busy.**

**Anyway! Here's the next chapter.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and to thestarlitrose and Myno.1fan for betaing!**

**~Frosty**

Albus had been watching the monumental display of idiocy as his two best mates made their problem even larger over dinner. He could only imagine the damage they'd done to their confused relationship while they'd been ignoring each other all day. How was he supposed to get them together if they were always _working against him_?

When Rose left the Great Hall, he followed determinedly after her.

"What's with you?" he demanded, grabbing her shoulder and stopping her retreat.

Rose whirled on him, her fiery curls fanning out around her with the speed of her movement. "What do you mean?"

"I _mean_, I send you to talk to Scorpius and you chase him away completely! Not only that, but he chewed me out a while ago for telling you about his little episode in the Head's common room."

She was all for male solidarity and that sort of thing, but she was Albus' friend too, so why was he always siding with Scorpius? It was favouritism that was bordering on a complete disregard for her feelings. They were always banding together against her, it seemed.

"I told him that it wasn't his fault, and he's avoided me since," she snapped, not wanting to deal with yet another unreasonably uptight male. Weren't _girls _supposed to be the ones with the erratic behaviour and mood swings?

She should have known better than to have two boys as her best friends. The stories her mum had told her about her own time at Hogwarts should have topped her off to the troubles that boys brought with them. Unfortunately, Rose had never been one to take advice from her mum.

It would be nice to have a female friend to listen as she complained about how messed up Albus and Scorpius could be.

If there were reasonable boys out there, then she didn't seem to know any of them. They probably lived in some far-off world where foods with reduced fat tasted just as good as the originals and no female was ever accused of having PMS. She would have to visit some day.

"You didn't do _anything _else?" her cousin asked, sounding entirely unconvinced.

Rose narrowed her eyes at him, hoping she looked dangerously angered and not all squinty and ridiculous.

Done with Albus' accusations, she brushed past her cousin and stormed away, not stopping until she was safely locked in her room. Her nice room with her books, where everything made sense and she was left alone. The people closest to her always seemed to cause her trouble – particularly Scorpius.

Rose sighed as she remembered the first time she'd met Scorpius. He'd been trouble then too.

_The animosity every Weasley felt towards every Malfoy was practically legendary in the wizarding world. Rose's mum didn't approve of that kind of thinking, but that didn't stop her dad from trying to pass on the hate at every opportunity. _

_For as far back as Rose could remember, her dad had been telling her to watch out for 'blond, Slytherin gits who had more money than they did brains' once she got to Hogwarts. Confused, little Rose had asked what she should do in the event that she came across one of these creatures. Ron had been adamant that she should 'punch him'. _

_When her mum heard him say these things, she would always scold him and remind Rose that violence was never the answer. For a while, her Dad would look properly contrite, but as soon as Hermione's back was turned, he'd mouth 'punch him' and nod encouragingly. _

_Considering this was the way she was raised, it was completely unsurprising that the first time she boarded the Hogwarts express, she got into trouble._

_It had started as an innocent enough encounter. Rose had been perched nervously on her seat, trying to keep her attention focused on the battered copy of Hogwarts: A History that her mum had bestowed upon her. Hermione Weasley believed that books made everything better, but Rose wasn't of the same opinion. Books were great, but they weren't the all-knowing source of knowledge and wonder that her mother liked to think._

_Somewhere between boarding the train and finding a compartment to occupy, little Rose had lost track of her hoard of cousins and had been forced to sit on her own. She had her book, but she would have much rather had some human company to talk with about her school fears, or at least to distract her from them._

"_That book is older than we are, I can hardly see it being relevant anymore," someone scoffed from the open compartment door._

_Rose looked up to see a blond figure leaning against wood panelling of the wall, appearing more assured than a first year had any right to look. She immediately disliked him, feeling even more worried when sitting in the shadow of his confidence._

"_It was my mum's when she was in school. I'm reading it for sentimental reasons rather than information." She wasn't going to tell the boy that reading her mum's book made her feel closer to her mum. It was comforting to have a piece of home even when she was going far away, even if she would have preferred a real person. Rose had a pretty good idea that the book was better company than _this _person._

_When her cool blue eyes glanced down at the tomb fondly, the blond darted forward and snatched it from her hands. _

"_Give that back!" she ordered, trying to fight a trembling lower lip. She'd lost her cousins, was away from her family for the first time, and now she had to deal with a blond bully._

_The boy merely smirked and held it above his head, out of her reach. How could he be the same age, yet already so much taller than her? _

"_Grandfather said I need to make sure people respect me on the first day, it's the Malfoy way." His pompous voice was starting to grate on her last nerve._

_When what he'd said hit Rose, her eyes widened. This boy was a Malfoy! The years of being told that Malfoys were evil and that she needed to punch their heir on sight came back to her. Sure, her dad had a temper, but he would never deliberately deceive her._

_There was only one thing she could do. The boy looked a little confused when she pulled her arm back and made a fist, but he got the gist when she punched him in the nose._

_A sickening crunch told her that she'd hit her mark._

* * *

><p>Something was tickling her nose. That was the first thing she registered upon awakening. Slapping at her face didn't seem to be stopping whatever bit of fluff that was tormenting her. It was so annoying! She made a small grunt of irritation and tried to roll to escape the itchy thing.<p>

Her eyes snapped open at the sound of a deep chuckle, meeting sparkling grey orbs. There was a quill in his hand, he must have found it on her desk and decided to tickle her awake. He was evil like that, and she wouldn't have him any other way.

"Morning," he said with a smirk, reaching out a hand to further ruffle her sleep-mussed hair.

Rose blinked. "You're speaking to me now?"

She was secretly pleased that he seemed to have forgiven her for whatever it was that she'd done to anger him. She had missed her friend. Her pride, however, stopped her from expressing that pleasure.

Heaving a deep sigh, Scorpius climbed into her bed and stretched out beside her, folding his arms behind his head. "I was a git."

That was probably as close to an apology as she was going to get.

She blinked at her friend, not entirely awake. Somehow, something was different. Once upon a time, it wouldn't have affected her in the least to have him stretched out beside her, but now, Rose couldn't help but be overly aware of him. All of her skin nearest to him seemed to light up with warmth. To distract herself from her new-found hyper-awareness of her friend, she pulled her pillow out from under her head and whacked him with it. All was forgiven.

Scorpius snatched the pillow away from the laughing redhead, but she just grabbed a different one and started to hit him again. He was relieved that she was laughing again. It had been wrong seeing her so serious, she was supposed to be looking at him with that brilliant smile that lit up her eyes and made them sparkle, not a clouded, depressed expression.

"Take THAT!" Rose exclaimed, hitting him right in the face and jerking him out of his contemplation of her smile.

She squeaked in surprise when he suddenly burst into a flurry of motion, jumping up from the bed, stealing her fluffy weapon, and flattening himself on top of her. His weight pinned her to the mattress.

"You're crushing me," she complained. In reality, she liked his warm weight on top of her, it felt safe and exciting at the same time. He smelled of expensive cologne and Scorpius and home, only adding to the overall feeling of safety. It felt like nothing could hurt her while he was there, keeping the real world at bay.

His chuckle at her complaint resounded in his chest, making her _feel _the sound as well as hear it. It did strange things to her insides. Strange things that she wanted to happen again.

"Serves you right for trying to break my nose again."

Rose ignored his complaint. It was impossible for her to break his nose with _pillows_.

When she felt him starting to pull away, she wrapped her arms around him tightly on impulse. She hadn't wanted him to move and had acted before her brain could catch up. Quickly, she searched for something she could say that would make him think she wasn't just being annoying and clinging when he just thought of her as a friend.

"It really wasn't your fault that I got hurt. Don't beat yourself up about one little accident. They happen all the time in Quidditch." Yes, that was both true _and _made her seem less clingy.

He let out a surprised breath that puffed along her skin and threw her off balance once again. She wanted him to do _that _again, but it was probably best for her sanity that he didn't. It was very likely that her head would tilt back of its own volition so she could press her lips against his.

He needed to get off of her before she did something that would ruin their friendship.

"Say what you want, but I don't have to believe it." There was a sad smirk on his face. Merlin, the idiot wasn't going to just let her erase his guilt. He was going to wallow in it for a while.

He put his hand over her mouth to stop the protests he knew she was about to voice. "Nothing you can say is going to talk me out of feeling this way, so don't waste your breath."

With a warning look, he removed his hand from her lips.

"I can't breathe," she complained. That said, she released him, allowing him to stand. The closeness was nice, but it had been a little hard to breathe with that much weight constricting her poor lungs. It was a little worrying that Scorpius was still silent. He wasn't going to go off on another spree of ignoring her, was he? She wasn't sure she could take that again, it really hurt.

A tad awkwardly, he stood up. Rose immediately felt the loss. She'd prefer he was back on top of her than be able to breathe any day.

"I'm here to remind you that practice starts in half an hour and I expect my star chaser to be there," Scorpius said, breaking the slightly uncomfortable silence they'd fallen under.

Her eyes widened. He was going to let her play? Better yet, he'd come to get her just to make sure she made it to practice on time?

In a rush, she stood up. "Since when have I ever been late for anything?" She was already pushing him towards the door so she could put on her Quidditch practice gear.

"I thought it might be a little hard for you to know when practice was since I announced it in the Ravenclaw common room last night."

That gave her pause. She didn't share Ravenclaw tower with him and every other student of the house anymore. While she missed the camaraderie, she appreciated her new privacy – when Scorpius wasn't sneaking into her room and invading said privacy. "How'd you get in here?"

"Albus," he smirked. "It seems he feels that our fight was partially his fault and he owed it to his two best mates to help them make up, even if it meant letting a man into his completely unsuspecting cousin's room."

"I think I'm safe," she said dryly, going back to shoving him out of her room. In her mind, she was picturing that Slytherin brunette at dinner. Scorpius went for girls that were all breast and legs with no brains, not people like her. There was no way her little delusion would ever come to pass.

He gave her an unreadable look over his shoulder, allowing her to propel him the rest of the way out of her room.

Albus was waiting in the Head's common room sipping a cup of tea. "Why do you look like you swallowed a flobberworm?" he asked his friend when the blond flopped in a chair.

Scorpius visibly deflated as he looked over at Rose's closed door. "She looks so serene when she sleeps, so helpless. Before I grabbed a quill to irritate her awake, I was standing there, thinking what it would be like to always wake up to her."

Setting his tea on the table, Albus grimaced. "Out of all the people in the school, it had to be _Rose_ you picked, someone I'm _related _to? Do you know how disturbing it is to hear my best mate talk about my cousin like that?"

"You're practically related to half the school, there was a good chance I'd choose someone you're in some way connected with," the blond said dryly.

"It's been Rose since she broke your nose on the very first day of school and then held your hand and cried while they fixed you. Don't even pretend there's ever been anyone else."

Scorpius shot a worried look at the Head Girl's door, concerned that her cousin was talking loud enough for his voice to carry through the thick wood.

Catching the look, Albus barked a laugh. "Don't worry, after that little display at dinner last night, she doesn't suspect a thing. And she never will if you don't say anything. You know how oblivious she can be once she gets it in her head that something's impossible. Hell, she didn't believe Victoire was going to have a baby until she was nine months pregnant and waddling everywhere."

The blond was saved from having to answer when Rose's door opened and she came out, broom slung over her shoulder.

"Are we going, captain?" she asked with a grin, completely unaware that they had just been talking about her.

"One day she's going to meet a boy who isn't completely intimidated by the mass of male relatives she has looking out for her and you're going to regret not saying something," Albus whispered to the blond while Rose hopped around trying to get her boots on her feet.

Jaw tight, Scorpius looked over at Rose.

"Would you be able to watch her with someone else?" Albus continued. "You can't expect her to stay single forever. I know she's my cousin, but she's not entirely unattractive."

"Scorpius, it'll look bad if the captain is late for his own practice. Come _on_," Rose said impatiently from the portrait hole. She may not have been all too enthusiastic about joining the team, but once committed to something, Rose wasn't the type to only put in a partial effort and she _hated _being late for anything important.

"She'd already got you wrapped around her finger, the only difference in a relationship would be you'd get to kiss her," Albus said as Scorpius stood from his seat. He shot a venomous glare at the green-eyed nuisance and caught up to Rose, who had grown impatient and started out the portrait hole as soon as she saw that he was standing.

"I never found out who else made the team," she commented as they made their way towards the pitch.

Scorpius grimaced. "That's because I didn't want to tell you until the last possible moment."

A bad feeling in her stomach, Rose narrowed her eyes at the blond suspiciously. "Why?"

"Because Scarlet and Vermilion Goldstein are your fellow chasers and you're too polite to chew me out about choosing them if they're present," he said just as they set foot on the pitch, where the rest of the team was waiting. Their name was a running joke in Ravenclaw – it was like they'd been _destined _to be in Gryffindor, yet the sorting hat had placed them in the house of blue and bronze.

The fourth year Goldstein twins were two of the most annoying people Rose had ever met. Since their first year, they had regaled audiences with the stunning – and completely fabricated, in Rose's opinion – stories of their father's victories in the battle against Voldemort. As a result of their preoccupation with the past, they seemed to think that every child of war heroes should _also _acknowledge the battle prowess of their father, Anthony.

Rose's first meeting with them hadn't gone well, and their associations had only gone downhill since. They'd approached her in their first year with something akin to hero-worship in their eyes, asking if she had any stories about their father that they hadn't heard. Her response of "who?" hadn't been well-received.

After writing a letter home to her parents asking about this 'Anthony Goldstein,' Rose had truthfully told them her mum's memories of the man (making sure to edit a little and make him sound less repulsive), placing her firmly in their bad books. It really wasn't _her _fault that they'd put their father on a pedestal and didn't take it well when someone tried to bring them back to reality.

Their relationship had only worsened when both the blond twins seemed to simultaneously develop a huge crush on Scorpius and resented Rose for spending so much time with him. Rose disliked the both of them immensely and couldn't see how she was going to be able to work as a team when they so obviously hated her.

"How do you expect me to be able to work with them?" she hissed, trying to burn Scorpius with her glare.

The evil blond ignored her, addressing the team as a whole. "I know some of us don't get along all the time, but we're here with a common goal; to win. I expect you to work your hardest and put aside petty disagreements," he said with a pointed look between Rose and the twins.

Rose took to the air along with the rest of the team, making a mental note to _murder_ Scorpius – as soon as they weren't at practice anymore and he lost the ability to make her do laps or drills.

Unsurprisingly, Scorpius was a good captain, a good _leader_. He worked them _really _hard, but he knew how to bring them together and motivate them. By the end of the practice, Rose could barely move from exhaustion, but she'd managed to actually work with the Goldstein twins without feeling the need to bash someone's head in. There was hope for their team yet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**A/N: Sorry this chapter took me so long! But it's here now, so that counts for something, right?**

**A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed! Also thanks to thestarlitrose for betaing!**

**~Frosty**

She didn't bother showering in the locker room, instead opting to trudge back to the Head's dorm, where she could soak in a tub. Hopefully the hot water would ease her aching muscles. She was more out of shape than she'd thought; too much of her spare time was spent on her reading and homework, obviously.

If Scorpius kept up the intensive training, she foresaw many more baths in the near future. Her poor muscles were in revolt, punishing her for making them work so hard. She was already starting to dread the ache she was going to feel in the morning, once her muscles had had time to really settle into their pained state and stiffen.

Barely five minutes into her bath, her relaxation was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Rose," Albus called, "Scorpius is in the common room and wants to talk to you. Are you decent?"

She scowled towards her idiot cousin, the effort wasted because he couldn't see her.

"I'm in the bathroom behind a locked door. Do you _think _I'm decent?" she snapped. So she wasn't the nicest person when her relaxing was interrupted, Albus should know better. Scorpius should as well, having interrupted her while she was trying to relax numerous times in the past and paid for each and every one.

"Rose..." Albus persisted. It was a warning that he didn't plan to leave her alone anytime soon. If she wanted to continue her relaxation, then she was going to have to hear whatever it was that Scorpius had to say.

She heaved a sigh that sent ripples across the steaming surface of her bath.

"I'm not getting out of the tub!" she said petulantly. "It's _his _fault I need the bath in the first place."

Faintly, she head Albus groan in irritation on the other side of the door. "Conjure some bubbles or something, he wants to talk to you."

Normally, Rose would have yelled at him for suggesting such a thing, but the muffled protest she heard from Scorpius at her cousin's suggestion was enough to make her reconsider. She was feeling spiteful enough to make Scorpius feel as awkward talking to her as she'd felt working with the Goldstein twins. It wasn't like he was attracted to her, it would be like catching his sister in the bath; a whole bunch of awkward.

A wave of her wand had a thick blanket of foam covering the surface of the water. The only thing visible was the tips of her shoulders, and even they were covered by the clingy strands of her wet hair. She was perfectly decent; there were dresses in her closet that revealed more skin than was currently visible. Another wave of her wand had the door unlocked.

"Fine," she said, making sure her voice made it abundantly clear that she wasn't happy with the situation.

The door opened and Scorpius stumbled into the room, propelled by Albus' hand placed firmly in the middle of his back. He glared at the Gryffindor over his shoulder before turning to face Rose.

If he hadn't been Scorpius Malfoy, Rose would have been sure that was a very faint blush staining his cheeks. However, he _was _Scorpius and so he didn't let things frazzle him, and he _never_ let things embarrass him.

She had once asked him why it was that he was never embarrassed and he'd replied that embarrassment was for people who made mistakes and Malfoys never made mistakes. The tone he'd used had implied that he was quoting his grandfather directly. Sometimes it came in handy to have an abundance of confidence, Rose certainly wished she did, particularly when she was blushing as red as a tomato.

"What do you want?" she asked, glaring at him. She was still mad and not about to let him off easy for that stunt he'd pulled on the Quidditch pitch. Her feelings towards him may be changing, but she was still irritated and hurt.

Scorpius stared resolutely at the tiled wall behind Rose. "I know you're not pleased with me at the moment, but they were the best choice for the team."

She huffed, her breath making a puff of bubbles separate from the mass and float away. Still staring at the wall, Scorpius missed this. Not once did his eyes dart in her direction.

"You could have told me before we were on the pitch. I would have been angry, but at least then I wouldn't have been hurt as well." Her words were directed towards the bubbles by her chin, but he heard them just fine in the quiet bathroom.

Surprised, he forgot about his sudden fascination with tiles and looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Am I really so unreasonable that you have to wait until we're in public to break bad news to me?" It had been killing her that he thought he couldn't tell her until the last minute. Sure, she'd been upset, but she got over it pretty quickly.

Her Uncle Harry had told her stories of her dad's habit of overreaction in school, and she didn't want her friends to treat her like that. She'd always prided in the fact that she'd inherited her father's temper, yet managed to keep it in check most of the time. Yet here was proof that Scorpius, someone who knew her better than almost anyone, didn't think her capable of keeping her cool. It hurt that he thought of her like that. Like some kind of volcano of anger just waiting to explode.

"Don't do this," he said.

"Do what?"

"Take a decision that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time and twist it around so I'm a bad person! It's such a _girl _thing to do!"

Rose scowled. "In case you haven't noticed, I _am_ a girl!"

Did he really just see her as some androgynous being who would be just another one of the guys if it hadn't been for an unfortunate shortcoming in the area between her legs? She didn't go out of her way to straighten her hair or pile on the makeup, but Rose didn't think she was _completely _unfeminine.

"That's my _problem_!" he growled. He turned around and stormed out of the room. "I noticed you were a girl a _long _time ago," he finished, too quiet for her to hear.

Bringing her knees up to her chest, Rose hugged them close. She just had to go and have that _stupid _... whatever it was; dream, vision, hallucination. It seemed that something important had changed in their friendship during that moment, and the balance had been off ever since. They kept fighting over things that wouldn't have ever been an issue in the past and she couldn't understand it. They were both trying to get back to where they'd been before, but somehow, they no longer quite fit together in the same way, something had changed.

Rose was scared _she _was the one who had changed. That vision had made her realize that she could be deliriously happy with Scorpius as something more, and it made her resent that he could never give her that.

Locking the door with her wand, she ducked her head under the water to re-wet it before she slathered it in shampoo.

* * *

><p>"That went well," Albus said when Scorpius slammed the bathroom door behind him. Towards the end of their conversation, they'd been talking rather loudly, and Albus had heard them through the door... not that his ear had been pressed against it or anything.<p>

"I can't talk to her anymore. Not the way I could before," Scorpius groaned, threading his fingers into his hair. The blond strands stood up at strange angles, making him look incredibly distressed, nothing like his usually composed self.

"Well, why not?" his friend asked, trying to be reasonable. All Albus really wanted to do was bang Scorpius' blond head against Rose's and verbally abuse the both of them until they saw they should be together. Instead, he dragged the blond over to the sofa and sat him down in front of the fire.

"Al, when I saw her fall..." Scorpius ran his hand through his hair again, unable to verbalize what he'd felt. He cleared his throat of the emotion blocking his throat and tried again. "I knew if she died, nothing would ever be the same. I would have died with her. It made me realize I can't _not _tell her how I feel, and it's probably going to ruin our friendship because she looks at me with the same affection she does you. And you're her _cousin._ I'm the equivalent of a cousin." There was a mournful look in his eyes as he said the last part. It hurt to have his feelings brutally crushed by the realization that he'd never be more than a family member to her.

"In some places, it's legal for cousins to marry," Albus said helpfully.

"That's _not _what I meat," Scorpius growled, sounding like he wanted to punch something - probably Albus.

They fell silent at the sound of splashing from the bathroom. Scorpius tried not to picture Rose dunking her head under the water and then emerging, the curls clinging to her exposed skin as she rose from the tub like some sort of sea nymph. _"Tried"_ being the key word.

"You need to figure it out before you break a six-year friendship," Albus ordered. He gave Scorpius a significant look before climbing the stairs and shutting himself in his room. Scorpius needed time alone to think about it and really let that statement sink through his thick skull.

The blond glared after his friend. Albus talked like it was so _easy _to bear his soul and hope he didn't push away the single most important person in his life because he got greedy and wanted more than she was offering.

He threaded his fingers through his hair once again. If he kept up at the rate he was going, pretty soon he'd be dishevelled enough to pass for an escaped mental patient. Grandfather would be so disappointed in him for allowing himself to look so 'common'. Or worse, he'd end up _bald_. Scorpius shuddered at the mere thought.

A while later, Rose came out of the bathroom wearing only a towel. Forming coherent sentences to get himself out of the hole he'd somehow fallen into was so much easier when she was fully clothed! He was just going to have to give it a try and hope for the best.

"Can we just... forget the whole thing happened?" he asked hopefully.

Rose jumped a little, having not noticed him before he spoke. She thought he would be long gone, not waiting for her in the common room looking thoroughly out of sorts. Making sure her towel was covering all the important parts of her, she turned to face him fully.

"Only if you promise not to treat me like some volatile explosive in the future," she said, crossing her arms. The gesture made her breasts more pronounced, but she failed to notice how her friend's eyes flicked down and then back to her face. Her attention was focused on his left shoulder. For some reason, she couldn't quite look him in the eye when she was feeling so exposed. It was too embarrassing. Even more embarrassing would be his complete lack of interest in her partially exposed state – which she knew she would see should their gazes meet.

It was best that she not look him in those mesmerizing eyes of his.

Scorpius pretended to deliberate, taping a long finger against his chin. He needed to lighten the atmosphere. "What if I continue to treat you like a volatile explosive when I think the situation warrants it, but I take you to Honeydukes and buy you all the chocolate you could possibly eat to apologise every time you get upset?"

Her blue eyes lit up with amusement and she was finally able to meet his gaze. "Like when we were in third year and you got us both detentions for setting James on fire?"

Albus' older brother had been a bit of a trouble-maker in his school days. He'd pushed Scorpius a little too far with his pranks when the blond had found Rose suspended in a large cobweb that stretched across the corridor. Rose had been irritated, but could still see the humour and Halloween spirit of the prank, but Scorpius had been livid. When James hopped out from behind a pillar with his wand at the ready to cast another web, Scorpius had said the first incantation that came to mind, the fire-starting spell they'd just learned in Charms.

Naturally, that had been when a teacher came around the corner. McGonagall had taken one look at the scene and gave Rose and Scorpius a detention, James as well once she'd extinguished the fire.

The Hogsmeade weekend that followed their detention, Scorpius had all but dragged Rose to Honeydukes and bought her armfuls of chocolate in hopes she'd forgive him and speak to him again. She had been giving him the cold shoulder since the detention, unable to deal with him when he'd been the cause of the very first mark on her perfect, detention-free record.

Eventually, she'd had to laugh at his insistence that she _still_ didn't have enough chocolate even when she could barely carry all he'd purchased. She'd told him that he shouldn't believe that chocolate could always buy her forgiveness just because it had worked once, but he'd given her a smirk that clearly said he didn't believe her.

For weeks after that, Rose, Scorpius, and Albus had repeatedly reported to the Hospital Wing for a stomach ache relieving potion. They continued the cycle of chocolate and Hospital Wing until Madam Pomfrey confiscated the rest of their chocolate and sternly told them that if they ever bought chocolate again, she better not see them in her Infirmary.

"Just like that. Except this time, we can carry more chocolate and know to pace ourselves," the blond said with a grin, encouraged by her happy reaction. Maybe they'd be all right after all.

Abruptly, her eyes dimmed again. "I can't go this weekend, I have a date," she said.

When she'd agreed to go on that date with Lysander, she'd known she was going to regret it eventually, she just hadn't thought it would be so _soon -_ and for a different reason. She'd thought Lysander was going to do something completely strange that made her wish she's just stayed at the castle and holed herself away in her room.

Scorpius was completely floored. Albus had warned him this would happen, he just hadn't thought it'd be so quickly after he'd been told. Rose had been amazing for years, so why was it only now that someone else had noticed? He felt a sudden, unreasonable desire to Avada whoever _dared _to touch Rose. She wasn't _his _to lay claim on like she was a piece of meat, but he wanted her to be. Merlin, did her ever want her to be his.

"Who is it?" he growled.

He couldn't bear the thought of someone putting his hands on Rose, but he _needed _to know who it was. There was no way the bloke could be good enough for her. Maybe he could make her see how wrong this mystery man was for her.

Frowning at the menacing tone she'd never heard from her friend before, Rose hesitated. She saw no reason for Scorpius to be so... confrontational about the bloke's name. Lysander was about as intimidating as his mother – which was not at all. Did Scorpius think she was going to get hurt on her date? That Lysander would try to take advantage of her? Both of those were ridiculous notions.

"Why are you so upset?" she wondered. Was this going to be another one of those things that normally wouldn't have caused a problem but was going to tear a huge rift between them because she'd had a stupid bloody hallucination?

She really hoped it wasn't.

If she could go back, she'd would _un-_see that blasted hallucination. Something more with Scorpius would have been amazing, but Scorpius as a friend was better than no Scorpius at all – and that seemed to be where she was headed. Rose didn't want to lose Scorpius, he was her best friend and it would destroy her.

He drew in a deep breath, nostrils flaring in poorly-hidden anger. "Just tell me."

"Not while you're unreasonably angry like this, you look like you're going to hunt him down and murder him," she said, taking a step back. Suddenly she felt really exposed in just a towel. What had earlier been discomfort at being barely dressed morphed into a feeling of complete vulnerability. Scorpius wasn't going to hurt her - she knew that - but he _was _awfully threatening.

She transfigured her towel into a modest nightgown, surprised that she hadn't thought of it sooner. There, that was better. She was more covered, but Scorpius wasn't any less angry.

"I need to know who it is," he insisted.

Carefully, like she was dealing with an offended hippogriff, Rose crossed the room and stood in front of him. She'd always known he was quite a bit taller than her, but never had he used that height to purposely tower over her in an attempt at intimidation before then. Merlin, she would fit snugly below his chin if she were to step forward. Subtly, she shook her head to rid it of the slew of images that her imagination provided about holding him tightly and nuzzling her nose against his collarbone.

Reaching up a hand to place one on each of his shoulders, she steered him to the sofa and pressed down until he got the hint and sat. That solved the height difference rather nicely, making Rose the taller one. No more of those pesky imaginings... Except from this height, he could easily bury his face in her chest if she wanted to. Blasted hormones. Rose tried not to blush while she watched him grapple with his anger.

The blond took a deep breath, visibly forcing himself to relax. It was his own fault for not telling her how he felt. Rose was wonderful; the only thing that was surprising about her date was that it hadn't happened a long time ago.

"Never mind," he mumbled. "Have fun on your date."

That said, he stood from the sofa and left the Head's common room, not looking back to see the hurt expression Rose was wearing.

Elsewhere in the Head Dorms, Albus groaned as he hovered over a pair of extendable ears. His friends were both idiots. He was going to need backup if he was ever going to get them together. But first, he had to find out who Rose was going to date and sabotage the whole thing.

* * *

><p>"Don't you have any friends your own age?" Lily huffed irritably while her brother dragged her towards an empty classroom.<p>

"It's a Weasley emergency," Albus stated by way of explanation.

She raised skeptical eyebrows. "We haven't had one of those since James and Fred almost got themselves expelled for jinxing McGonagall's knickers to scream dragon mating calls every time she sat down."

"We couldn't let them go down for that stroke of genius," he defended.

Lily pulled herself from his grasp and paced away from him. "All right, we're alone," she said, glancing around the dusty room in distaste. "What's so important that you had to drag me away from that fit sixth year?"

"Rose has a date."

The younger girl's lips split into an excited smile. "That's great! Why does that warrant a Weasley emergency?"

She had long since stopped trying to tell her brother that their last name was Potter, meaning they couldn't actually call a Weasley emergency. It was always a feeble attempt to stay out of whatever trouble followed the words 'Weasley emergency' and it never worked.

Albus had a feeling that Lily was going to hex him if he didn't get to the point soon. She was a little too much like their mum sometimes. Weasley women in general tended to have a lot of fire and Lily was no exception – neither was Rose, now that he was thinking of it.

"It isn't with Scorpius."

The smile slipped right off of her face. "That _is_ an emergency," she murmured. "How's he taking it?"

"Not well. The idiot keeps putting his foot in his mouth and pushing her farther away. It's a wonder he manages to get girls in the first place. They desperately need some help."

Lily twirled a strand of hair around her finger thoughtfully. "It's not girls that are his problem, it's just Rose. He can either treat her like one of the guys or like a girlfriend, when he tries for something in between, it always backfires."

Her eyes rolled at her brother's blank look. "He can either pretend she's genderless and completely smother his feelings or he gets all possessive and fights with her because he can't deal with those feelings."

For a fifteen year old, she was awfully knowledgeable about his friends. Sometimes Lily was scary observant. If she put her mind to work on something other than makeup and boys, she'd be an unstoppable force. The terrifying possibilities were endless.

Always the planner, Albus already knew what they were going to do. "You need to find out who she's going to date and any dirt you can find on him." For once, he was glad his sister was an incurable gossip. "And then we need to somehow sabotage the date. We can't have Rose in a relationship with some bloke. That would ruin everything."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**A/N: Hello readers! Guess what month it is! I'll give you a hint: November. I'm 16 906 words into my NaNoWrMo story, and it's only the 5****th****, so I figure I've got a pretty good start on it, but it might slow my updating down because it sucks up all of my spare time.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and to thestarlitrose and jocelynnn for betaing!**

**~Frosty**

Rose tugged her robes tighter, unprepared for the autumn chill as she stepped outside. She was taking advantage of the fact that most of the school was at dinner in order to sneak outside unnoticed. It would be best if she didn't have an audience for what she was planning.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she mumbled, casting furtive glances back at the castle to make sure she wasn't being followed. Rose was acting like a criminal even though she wasn't doing anything against the rules.

It really was a nice evening - aside from the breeze, which was a touch nippy. The cool air carried hints of wood smoke from the fires burning inside the castle, and the stars were already starting to appear in the darkening sky. Anyone who saw her would probably assume she was outside to enjoy the pleasant weather as the last vestiges of summer lost the eternal battle against autumn. She stood at the edge of the lake and watched what remained of the sunset distorted in the ripples on the water.

Was she just supposed to... talk? Rose almost wished Lysander had given her more instructions when he'd suggested she try this. At the time, she hadn't paid his suggestion any attention because she'd thought the whole thing was ridiculous, yet here she was.

"Um... Squid?" she asked, feeling like a complete moron.

Nothing happened.

Who talked out problems with a sea creature anyway? It was not an action of a sane person. She'd heard about it from Lysander; that alone should have tipped her off about the insanity of the idea.

What help could a _squid _possibly provide? The thing hardly had any experience in the romance department, being alone in the lake and all, and even if it did, it would hardly be able to convey any helpful advice it may have.

She had almost convinced herself that she was being stupid, and she was about to turn around and go back into the castle, never to mention this incident again, when a thick tentacle poked out of the water and waved at her. Somehow, that one tentacle managed to convey that the squid was happy it had a visitor and was listening to her. Maybe the squid, like the castle itself, had a sort of magic that was all its own.

Or maybe Rose's grasp on sanity was more precarious than she thought.

"I think I've made a mistake!" she blurted. Where in the world had _that_ come from? The words felt almost like they'd been pulled from her mouth. She must have been more desperate to voice her inner turmoil than even she'd anticipated.

A few more tentacles broke the surface, as if to show that she had his full attention.

Well, she wasn't going to look any _crazier_. May as well finish what she'd started.

"I have a date this weekend with a really nice boy. Lysander - you probably know him, he's the one who told me to visit you. But he's not the one I can't stop thinking about – that's Scorpius. You should have seen his face when he found out I had a date. I've never seen him so angry and upset. I don't know if he thinks we're not going to be able to be friends if I end up with a boyfriend, or if there's something else bothering him about my date.

"Our relationship hasn't been the same since I had this vision hallucination _episode_ thing during Quidditch practice." She stopped her rushed speech and let out a huge breath. It felt kind of nice to get those things off of her chest, even if the one listening wasn't another human.

The tentacles wove together encouragingly, making small splashes in the otherwise smooth surface of the lake.

Rose climbed on top of one of the large boulders that jutted out into the lake and perched there, legs dangling and the toes of her shoes almost touching the water.

"I seemed so happy in that vision I had. It made me look at Scorpius differently. I think... I might have feelings for him and I just needed that jolt to realize it. How dense does that make me? And pathetic, it certainly makes me pathetic. He only wants to be my friend and now I'm ruining that friendship with my _feelings_."

She was frustrated to feel that her eyes were welling up with tears. "I don't want to lose him over something so stupid. His friendship's too important to me."

One of those tentacles came over and ruffled her hair, as if to say 'everything will work out'. Freezing lake water dripped down the back of her neck, making her shiver as the cool breeze hit the water, turning the cold rivulets into liquid ice down her skin. Her curls were soaked and probably tangled with seaweed by the time the limb pulled away, disappearing below the surface once more.

Surprisingly, talking with the squid _had_ made her feel better – slightly insane - but still a little better. It was easier to sort out her emotions when she was speaking them aloud.

"Were you swimming in this weather?" asked a voice from behind her.

Rose turned to see Scorpius climbing the rock. Her stomach dropped for a moment, terrified that he'd heard something she really didn't want him to hear. She searched his face for signs that he'd been listening in on her private moment with the squid, desperately hoping not to find any.

Thankfully, his expression was blank, with perhaps a touch of uncertainty in his eyes. No, he couldn't have heard what she'd said.

"I was talking to the Giant Squid," she said.

When she put it that way, it made her sound insane... Who was she kidding? It made her sound insane no matter what way she put it. Merlin, she was losing her mind before she'd even gone on one date with Lysander!

The blond snorted a laugh as he sat down beside her, not caring that he was getting moss on his expensive pants. Rose liked that about him; he could wear clothes that were of the highest quality and not let it hold him back from getting just as dirty as everyone else.

"And this conversation led to seaweed in your hair?"

She sat perfectly still as he wound his fingers through her curls, trying to remove a strand of green from among the mass of red. It took effort to restrain herself from leaning into his touch.

"You know you're strange, right?" he asked, throwing the seaweed back into the lake.

She watched it sink under the surface, not able to look at the person by her side.

"You say that as if you haven't known that since we first met."

Their friendship had begun with a punch in the face, and then an attack of guilt so strong that Rose had been glued to his side until she knew he'd be fine. After such a rocky beginning, it was highly unlikely that they were going to be _normal_.

Scorpius reached into his pocket and pulled out a slightly crumpled sandwich. "I noticed you weren't at dinner," he said, offering the food.

Lifting up a slice of bread to peek at the filling, Rose found that it was turkey and mustard, her favourite. She smiled her thanks and took a big bite. She hadn't realized that she was hungry before she'd starting eating, but once she'd swallowed the first bite she was suddenly ravenous.

"How'd you find me?" she asked between bites.

"Point me spell."

He noticed she had finished her sandwich and was licking the spare mustard off of her fingers, still looking hungry. Grinning, he produced another, even more squished sandwich from the same pocket. They were really single sandwich pockets, hence the squished bread. He also may have sat on them a little when he perched on the rock.

Rose devoured it almost as fast as the first one. He knew her well. Her appetite had been known to sometimes rival her dad's – though she was much more polite than her father when she ate.

"Thank you for the food. I may have withered away out here," she said, leaning close to kiss his cheek like she'd done many times in the past. She wouldn't have done it if she'd been thinking, but it was such an automatic action that it was more reflex than conscious action. Unfortunately, he turned towards her to say something at that exact moment and her kiss landed on his lips instead.

Time stopped.

Rose's stomach was suddenly a riot of warmth and butterflies. She was drawn to him like a moth to a flame, but she was sure the only reason he hadn't moved away already was because he was in shock. She _wanted _to fling her arms around him and snog him properly but knew that probably wouldn't be well-received.

The decision was taken away from her when Scorpius wrapped his strong arms around her, pulled her closer, and slanted his head for a better angle.

Her mind went completely blank and she gave in to her urge to tangle her hands in his hair. She forgot to question motivations and wonder why it was the he would want to snog her when he didn't see her as a girl.

Noticeably absent were her earlier concerns that they would do something stupid and ruin their friendship. The only thing she cared about in that moment was his lips on hers and his hands roaming over her body.

Distant laughter from the direction of the castle made her jerk away from Scorpius' embrace. It was almost dark, so it was highly unlikely that anyone could see them all the way from the school, but the possibly of being caught had startled her back to her senses.

He was Scorpius. She'd accidentally kissed him, and he'd given into his hormones and reacted to the kiss. That was plausible, right? Teenage boys had to constantly grapple with raging hormones that made them want to shag anything that moved too close. She'd just happened to get too close, and now Scorpius was going to regret it.

Abruptly, she stood up, trying to avoid the blond's darkened eyes. "That wasn't supposed to happen," she said shakily.

The only good thing that had come from that kiss was that she now knew for certain that she didn't think of Scorpius as just a friend. She had felt the electrifying sparks of pleasure and a yearning for him that 'just friends' could never have.

With her feelings confirmed, tensions were only going to increase more between them. In one moment, Rose had singlehandedly shredded their comfortable relationship. She wasn't going to be able to _look _at him without focusing on that kiss!

He was trying to catch her gaze, but she avoided it resolutely. Seeing the regret there would crush her completely.

"Rose-" Scorpius reached for her, but she took a step away from him, not wanting to be touched. That would only make it worse.

Those butterflies that had felt nice earlier had suddenly armed themselves with pointy things and were tearing into her insides with a vengeance.

Only thinking that she needed to stay far away from him and his outstretched hand, she took another step back, forgetting how close she was to the black water.

Before she could really understand what was happening, she had slipped on a mossy patch of rock and was plummeting though the freezing-cold lake. Her heavy robes were weighing her down and the cold made her numb within seconds of hitting the dark water. The cold liquid pressed in all around her, trying to flood her nose and mouth to choke her lungs.

Suddenly, something rubbery wrapped around her waist and started propelling her towards the surface. The tentacle lifted her clear of the water and carried her across the lake to the spot closest to the castle.

When it released its hold on her, Rose fell to the ground in a heap, unsteady on her legs. It seemed she was something of an accident magnet of late.

"Rose!" Scorpius called. He was rushing towards her, wearing that frantic look on his face again. The one she'd seen when she'd fallen from her broom and woken up with him hovering over her. She had to stop doing that to him; it couldn't be good for his blood pressure.

When he reached her, he crouched down beside her and grabbed both of her shoulders in his warm hands. Once again, he was completely uncaring about his expensive pants as he stared right into her eyes.

Rose idly noted that his mum had to hate him for his treatment of clothes; it must be a nightmare trying to stop him from ruining everything she bought. Then again, Scorpius looked great no matter what he wore or did. She probably looked like a drowned rat, while the only change he had to show for the whole experience were slightly swollen lips and windswept hair.

"Are you hurt somewhere? Did you hit your head? Let's get you inside," he pulled her to her feet and started to lead her towards the castle, but Rose pulled away.

"No!" She couldn't have him hovering and worrying over her, it gave her ideas that he cared more than he did. When she saw how hurt he looked behind the mask that had fallen over his face, she hurriedly tried to amend her statement to something less vehement. "Just... I have to go." She turned and ran, leaving him bewildered and hurt behind her.

It wasn't proper Head Girl behaviour to be running through the halls dripping seaweed and lake water, but Rose didn't care. She just wanted to be somewhere Scorpius couldn't get to her, somewhere she could think.

Her concern that her feelings were going to ruin their friendship had blinded her to the fact that she was _already _doing just that. How ironic was that?

Rose hoped Scorpius could just forget the whole lake incident and pretend it had never happened. That's what she intended to do – if he ever talked to her again.

Albus looked up, startled when she burst into the common room. She ignored his confused questions, running to her room and slamming the door behind her. She cast the strongest locking spell she knew on the door, not wanting to deal with anyone.

A quick drying spell had her clothes back to normal before she ripped them off and crawled into more comfortable pyjamas. She curled into a ball in her bed and clutched a pillow close to her face.

So she was a coward, there was a reason she hadn't been put into Gryffindor. She'd rather run from him than let him tell her that he hadn't meant to kiss her, that for a moment, he'd mistaken his friend Rose for Miss Busty Slytherin and kissed her back. It would crush her. Sure, she was already a little dented but still relatively whole. She was going to do whatever she could to keep those pieces intact.

Albus knocked on her door for a while, but she quickly tired of the noise and silenced it. Magically locked in her own little world, she was free to wallow in her misery. She'd just had the best kiss of her short life and it made her more distraught than any other single moment ever had.

Love was hard.

She smiled bitterly at her own understatement.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Rose was completely unprepared for her date. She'd slept poorly, her hair was revolting against her because she hadn't washed it after the lake incident, and her head was killing her.<p>

She peeked out her door before going into the common room, but no one was there. Albus must have been off somewhere. Relieved, she dragged herself into the bathroom.

A quick shower made her hair flatten slightly, but it was still a disaster. Frowning at her reflection in the mirror, she charmed her evil curls into a ponytail. That would have to do. She didn't look her best, but she was passable. Somehow she didn't think Lysander was overly concerned with her appearance anyway. The boy routinely wore bottle caps as a fashion accessory; he could hardly point fingers if she was a tad dishevelled.

A pair of jeans and a comfy shirt were chosen over a dress; she didn't think Lysander would plan something that she could comfortably do in a skirt. The radish earrings Luna had given to every female in the Weasley clan were the finishing touches on her outfit.

Rose grimaced as she caught her reflection in the mirror. She literally looked like something a cat had dragged in - after eating her and then vomiting her up again.

Lysander was waiting for her in the Entrance Hall, leaning against the wall and staring vacantly at the people passing by. A large grin stretched across his face when he caught sight of her radish earrings.

"I see you've come protected from the Nargles," he said, reaching down his collar and pulling out a bottle cap necklace to show that he was protected as well.

Wonderful, there could be a full-on Nargle invasion and they'd be the only two in the entire castle that would survive – save for Lysander's twin, of course.

"What's the plan?" she asked, feeling awkward already. It didn't help that she could feel the heavy weight of someone's gaze on her back. A part of her knew that if she turned around and searched the area, she'd find Scorpius giving her one of those long, unreadable looks of his.

So what if she was avoiding him? She was entitled to do that kind of thing from time to time, wasn't she? He was probably going to want answers when he talked to her, and Rose hadn't had time to come up with those answers. So really, what she was doing was for the benefit of both of them.

"I think we should get out of here before Malfoy contaminates the whole room with his Wrackspurts," Lysander said with a wary glance over her shoulder.

At least she wasn't the only one who had noticed Scorpius. Through sheer force of will, Rose didn't turn around to see what expression Scorpius was wearing. "Don't worry Lysander. I'm pretty sure any... Wrackspurts that Scorpius is throwing around are directed entirely at me."

He peeked over her shoulder again. "No, that death-glare of his is fully focused on me."

Rose linked her arm through his and pulled him towards the exit. "Should we head to Hogsmeade then, give the Wrackspurts room to disperse?"

He gladly followed, looking like he was fleeing from something. Rose could hardly blame him, the onetime she'd given in and glanced back at Scorpius, the blond had been wearing such a menacing look, she could have sworn it was his grandfather the former Death Eater behind them.

Little things seemed to go wrong for almost the entirety of their date. First, the bags of candy they'd both bought at Honeydukes suddenly burst, dropping the contents onto the muddy ground. Then a flock of sparrows suddenly decided that bits of Rose's hair would be the perfect lining to their nests and tried to pull it out.

The birds had chased them into The Three Broomsticks, where both their meals simultaneously exploded in their faces, covering them in mashed potatoes and gravy. The mess was repaired with a quick Scourgify, but both their appetites were ruined. Who wanted to eat food that had a tendency to attack anyway?

They'd tried for a stroll down to the Shrieking Shack, but trees had tangled in their robes and roots seemed to go out of their way to catch their feet. When Rose had tripped over a root and stumbled into Lysander, nearly knocking the both of them down a hill, they had given up and decided to call it a day.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say someone was following us around and trying to sabotage our date!" Lysander exclaimed as they walked through the castle gates, still on the lookout for renegade roots. The effort seemed to be unnecessary; the attacks had stopped as soon as it became obvious that they were headed back to the castle.

Rose glared towards a splash of red just at the tree line of the Forbidden Forest. Lily should know that she shouldn't leave her bright hair down to wave in the wind if she was going to try and hide in wooded areas. A black-robed figure that looked suspiciously like Albus grabbed Lily and pulled her behind a tree, hiding her hair. Considering their father was Harry Potter, one would assume they'd be less disappointing at the covert work.

"I know better and I think I may have to murder some of my cousins," she mumbled under her breath, too low for her date to hear.

"Despite the incidents, I've had fun," Lysander said awkwardly, grabbing one of her hands. It took a conscious effort not to take her hand back, his palm was clammy, and he was holding her poor fingers much too tightly.

He really had been a good sport about the whole thing, smiling serenely even with gravy on his face, offering the birds bits of twine he kept in his pockets so they'd leave her hair alone. His calm serenity was sort of soothing for someone as prone to extreme emotions as Rose. If she could just stop thinking about a certain blond, she may even be happy in a relationship with Lysander.

Maybe she just wasn't trying hard enough.

Her eyes widened when Lysander leaned in slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away, but she held firm. What better way to wipe the memory of that kiss with Scorpius out of her head than another kiss? She closed her eyes and waited.

It didn't take long. Lysander pressed a chaste kiss on her lips and pulled back smiling.

Rose forced a smile on her face as well, trying not to look as miserable as she felt. There was no spark, nothing. She may as well have been kissing a mannequin for all she felt.

Once she'd set her mind on something, Rose was never one to do things halfway. She'd decided that she was going to forget about Scorpius and his mind-blowing kisses and she was going to have to give it her full effort.

That meant she was going to have to give kissing Lysander another go. Maybe she just needed to work harder about feeling something. It had been effortless with Scorpius, but with Lysander, it would obviously take another try.

Lysander's blue eyes widened when she grabbed either side of his face, but he didn't seem to mind when she mashed her lips against his. There were no fireworks, butterflies, or desire to completely immerse herself in the moment.

She applied a little more pressure before releasing him.

"Wow," was all he said, looking a little dazed.

Rose wasn't looking at him; she couldn't seem to tear her eyes from the grey pair that were staring at her with accusation, hurt, and an icy sheen that was completely new. She'd put that ice there and it killed her a little.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**A/N: Hello readers! Guess what! It SNOWED yesterday. Not the kind that stays, but it still happened. I was excited. **

**Thanks to all the wonderful people who reviewed and to thestarlitrose and jocelynnn for betaing! The story wouldn't be near as much fun without everyone's input!**

**Chapter 6 already! We're halfway done... Anyway, on with the chapter.**

**~Frosty**

The months leading up to the winter holidays were excruciating. Scorpius didn't say a word to her besides shouting orders while on the Quidditch pitch. If she found his eyes on her, his mercurial orbs always held that icy glare she'd become used to. It seemed he reserved that expression just for her. Albus was a little cold to her as well but at least he _spoke _to her.

Being separated from her two best friends was hard, but their absence from her life made Rose that much more grateful that she had Lysander. After their kiss, Rose had thrown herself into her relationship with the dreamy boy, hoping that the kisses would get better with practice.

So far they hadn't, but Lysander seemed content with just holding her hand most of the time. Guilt plagued her because he was so willing to wait while she was almost certain she would never be able to give what he was waiting for.

How was she supposed to move on and enjoy what she had with Lysander when she was being haunted by that one kiss with Scorpius? Despite her near desperate efforts to forget, the moment was burned into her mind.

"Rose, you've been sad for months," Lysander observed.

Guiltily, Rose looked up from the food she'd been pushing around her plate. She hadn't meant for Lysander to notice how miserable she'd been. In the morning they would both be going home for the winter holidays, so Rose had put a little more effort into her cheery facade.

Apparently even her additional effort fell short.

The redhead forced a smile. "What're you talking about? I'm perfectly happy."

Even to herself her voice sounded forced. Merlin, she was going to need to do better than that if she was going to fool her mum. Rose did her best to smooth the awkward edges away from her smile, hopefully making it look more natural.

Lysander shook his dark head. "No. You're pretending to be happy but your smiles never reach your eyes." He briefly glanced down before connecting his gaze with hers once again, showing uncharacteristic hesitation. "Is it because of me?"

He was so kind! Rose knew she didn't deserve him.

Suddenly fighting off tears, she threw her arms around her unfailingly kind boyfriend. "Of course it's not because of you! Don't worry. It's probably just exhaustion from all the studying I've been doing."

Lie.

"I'm sure I'll feel better after the holidays."

Lie.

She stretched her smile even further, hoping that over-expressing her happiness would throw the perceptive Lysander away from her mistruths.

His blue eyes told her he didn't believe her, but he nodded along anyway, eternally optimistic and always willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Sure, Rose," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

* * *

><p>"You're not going to say goodbye to Scorpius?" Her mum asked once she had released Rose from a tight hug.<p>

There was a pang in her stomach at the mention of his name, but Rose was used to that; it had been happening for months. Just because she was used to it didn't mean that it hurt any less, but she'd just become numbed to the pain.

Her eyes slid across the many people gathered on the platform until they landed on a pair of brilliant blond heads. Scorpius and his father stood out even among so many people. Scorpius was hugging his mum and smiling at his dad over her shoulder. He didn't look nearly as miserable as Rose felt. Maybe she was the only one truly affected by the rift that had sprung up between them.

"Rose?" Hermione asked when she didn't immediately receive an answer.

It had become something of a tradition upon separating for the holidays for Rose to give Scorpius a tight hug and a parting promise of saving him a seat on the train ride back to school. The whole thing had started in first year, when the blond had offered to pretend not to know her so her family didn't get upset.

An angry Rose had stormed off the train with Scorpius following behind her, unsure. In retaliation for his stupid comment, she'd thrown her arms around him in full view of everyone once they were on the platform. They were friends and she wasn't going to let her family dictate who she befriended. The looks on both their father's faces had been priceless. Draco and Ron had eventually become used to the sight, but the tradition had persisted.

Rose looked over towards the Malfoys once again. Scorpius was pointedly avoiding even glancing in her direction.

"No mum, we don't do that anymore," she said quietly.

Hermione shot a glance at her husband, but he was too busy talking excitedly with Hugo about the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"I'm not the only one playing Quidditch. Rose is a chaser," her traitor of a brother said. Rose had purposely avoided telling her parents about her position on the team because her dad would no-doubt going to make her join in the usual Weasley Christmas game to see how much she'd improved.

"Really, _Rose_?" Ron said, looking like Christmas had come early. "How in the world did they get you to join the team?"

"Apparently Scorpius can be very persuasive," Hugo said with a grin.

"Can we just get out of here?" Rose begged. She was starting to wonder why it was that she'd been looking forward to coming home.

* * *

><p>Her mum found her in her room that night.<p>

"Rose, do you need to talk about anything?" Hermione asked, running her hands along the stuffed bunnies Rose had been so fond of as a little girl. They were no longer guarding her bed from monsters; instead they were arranged on a shelf, collecting dust. After so many years of keeping her company, Rose had been unable to just dispose of them like they were trash because she'd outgrown them.

"I don't know what you mean," the girl in question said. She was curled up in her window seat, her arms wrapped around her legs and staring outside at the snow falling in the yard. A large quilt from her bed was wrapped around her shoulders for extra protection against the cold that radiated from the other side of the glass.

Hermione squeezed in beside her daughter on the seat. It had been a better fit when Rose was five and happy to snuggle into her mum's lap, but they both managed to wedge in – barely.

Wrapping an arm around Rose's shoulders, Hermione leant against her. "How about we start with why you didn't hug Scorpius like always and work from there?"

Years of Auror's work had made Hermione a little too observant for her children to be able to fool her for long. She was always one to strike right at the heart of the matter immediately, leaving no room for nonsense.

While she thought on her answer, Rose watched a snowflake hit the window pane and melt, sliding down the glass. Should she tell her mum what had happened? Hermione Weasley was known for her wise advice and secret-keeping when it was needed, but Rose wasn't sure she wanted to talk about it. She would have gone to the Giant Squid with her problems, but the lake had become a place of memories better left avoided. Also the lake had frozen and the Giant Squid retreated into the depths for the winter.

"I was trying out for the Quidditch team when I had this sudden... epiphany." Rose wanted to completely avoid mentioning visions or hallucinations; either one of those would make her mum think she was insane. She wanted advice, not to be checked into St. Mungo's. "I think I might... have feelings for Scorpius, but he'd never feel the same way about me. We had a falling out."

Understatement of the year, but she didn't want to get into the gory details. Good with advice or not, she was still talking with her _mum, _and some things were just not shared with parents. Besides, from what Aunt Ginny had told her, her mum hadn't had what most would call a smooth relationship with her dad when they were in school. Maybe romantic ineptitude just ran in the family.

Hermione looked at her daughter with sad eyes. "Honey, that boy's been in love with you since you were both eleven."

A little spark of hope ignited in her chest before Rose brutally crushed it. Though she may have been very wise, her mum wasn't infallible and relationships weren't exactly her forte.

Her mum was wrong. She had to be. Getting her hopes up and then having them crushed would be too much for Rose's wounded heart to bear. It would shatter.

Knowing that her daughter didn't believe her, Hermione sighed. The children wouldn't appreciate her meddling, but it pained her to have to watch her daughter so miserable when it was unnecessary. Hermione knew that Scorpius would be more than thrilled if Rose were to return his feelings openly. Sadly, she had done all she could and was going to have to let them work it out themselves. She and Ron had managed it, so there was hope for their daughter yet. The only thing she could do for her daughter was try and make the holidays as enjoyable as possible for Rose so that when she went back to school, she'd have that happiness to fall back on while she worked out her problems.

"Want to go make cookies and then eat them all in front of your dad?" Hermione asked. It used to be one of Rose's favourite games. When she was little, it had never ceased to amuse her to steal and eat the last cookie just as Ron reached for it and then giggle maniacally while he watched the last sugary morsels disappear.

Rose flashed an evil grin, looking more like herself than she had since getting off the train. "Can we make dad's favourite?"

"Of course," Hermione said, standing up and leading the way to the kitchen.

* * *

><p>"Rosie! Albus is here to see you!" Ron yelled up the stairs. He was still a little bitter about the cookie incident from days ago, but he'd been willing to let it go once Hermione pointed out that Rose had actually laughed, something they hadn't been hearing much of recently.<p>

Rose sighed and fished around for her bookmark in the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She was forever losing the little slips of paper in her bed, or chair, or wherever else it was that she was reading. Once again she was perched in her window seat, sitting quietly and reading.

She'd been home for a week and a half and this was the first time Albus had bothered to come and see her. On a normal holiday, they would have been back and forth to each other's homes almost constantly. After the first few days with no visit from him, she'd assumed she was going to spend the holidays alone, save for when the entire family got together.

Just as she stuck the bookmark into her page, the door creaked open and Albus edged inside. It was obvious that he wasn't sure if he was going to be welcome, which saddened Rose. Ever since they were small, they'd been more than comfortable just bursting into each other's rooms.

They were cousins for Merlin's sake. Frequently in the Weasley family, they'd just wander inside each other's homes, because everyone knew they were always welcome.

"This is stupid," were the first words out of his mouth.

Rose raised her eyebrows, inviting him to elaborate. She didn't want to get her hopes up if she'd misunderstood him.

"We've been best friends since we were in nappies. Since we had banded together to fend off James and the bugs he was forever trying to shove up our noses. This fighting is stupid," Albus said.

The five year old in Rose wanted to point out that it was _Albus _who had been basically ignoring her since she'd started dating Lysander, but she wanted her friend back more than she wanted to be petty. She wasn't sure what it was she should say, so they fell into silence.

Albus shifted slightly in discomfort.

"I thought I'd bring your Christmas present over here early." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a deep blue bottle with a purple ribbon around it in a clumsy bow. Albus had obviously tied it himself; he'd always sucked at bows. Usually, Rose was the one he went to when he needed the wrapping to look pretty.

She smiled her thanks. It was one of the few genuine smiles that had adorned her face in the last few months. Her eyebrows drew together as she read the label. "Heart's Desire?"

Albus nodded. "It's one of Uncle George's new potions. Drink it and it'll take you to what your heart desires most."

Eyeing the bottle warily, Rose pulled out the cork and took a sniff. It didn't seem dangerous or explosive – two things that one _always _checked for when trying out new Weasely's Wizard Wheezes products. However, Rose had learned at a young age that just because it didn't _look _like it would explode didn't mean it wouldn't.

Her cousin read her reluctant expression correctly. "Don't worry, I tried one of my own before I bought one for you. Mine took me to Grandma Weasley's house in a puff of blue smoke. She's already started making Christmas dinner and I was really craving some of her special turkey recipe."

Rose smiled. Poor Grandma Weasley was so used to people popping to her kitchen that she probably hadn't even blinked when Albus showed up in a puff of smoke and craving turkey. It wouldn't surprise her if the Weasley matriarch sent her cousin home with a plate of food in addition to the meal she'd most likely fed him.

Rose wasn't sure what it was that her heart desired the most. It probably wasn't food; that seemed to be a male tendency in her family. Perhaps the new edition of _Hogwarts: A History _that wasn't out for the public yet?

Maybe something less... material?

"Go on, try it," Albus said, watching her closely. "What harm could it do?"

Her eyes flashed and she glared at her cousin sharply. "_Never _say that about _anything _from Uncle George. You're practically _asking _for trouble."

"Just drink the potion and hope for the best, like we do with everything Uncle George hands us," Albus ordered, sounding impatient.

Rose frowned. It was like he knew where it was going to send her and was impatient to get on with the fun.

She wasn't sure she should drink it unless she knew where it was going to take her. What if what she desired most was another talk with the Giant Squid and the potion brought her to the bottom of the lake?

Pale hair and clear grey eyes flashed in her mind. It probably wasn't a talk with the squid that her heart desired the most.

What she really wanted was for the whole mess with Scorpius to never have happened, but Rose doubted Uncle George would have been able to get clearance from the Ministry to produce a product that had the capability of time travel. Those things were very carefully regulated.

"If this is some sort of trick, you're going to wish you were dead," she threatened.

He held his hands in the air. "You can use Veritaserum on me first if you want, but I guarantee it's exactly what I say it is."

With a sigh, Rose glanced between her cousin and the bottle, already knowing she was going to give into her curiosity soon. Might as well get it over with while there was someone present who could explain her disappearance to her parents.

Before she could over-think it, she closed her eyes and tipped the bottle back, pouring its contents into her mouth.

Surprisingly, the taste wasn't horrible. It tasted like blueberries with the tiniest hint of black liquorice. Slightly unripe and sour blueberries, but it could have been worse, the liquorice managed to keep the sourness from being overwhelming.

Almost immediately, a cloud of smoke the same colour as the potion's bottle swirled around her, accompanied by the tugging sensation of a Portkey. She didn't even have time to regret her decision as she was transported to a new location.

When the smoke cleared, Rose was standing in front of a rather impressive iron gate that was flanked by intimidating tall hedges. It was the albino peacock perched on top of said hedge that tipped her off about where she was. What other family would be so vain that they'd keep the loud and annoying birds around for appearances sake?

Her heart's desire was Scorpius, though she assumed the potion took her to present Scorpius instead of the one of the past. At least it was something less shallow than a desire for turkey - though the poultry option would have been much easier.

She may have suspected that the potion would take her to Malfoy Manor, but she hadn't thought much beyond that. Even when she was travelling to her destination, Rose was half expecting to prove just as simple in her heart's desire as her cousin and pop up in an ice cream parlour or something.

She would have Apparated right home as soon as she realized where she was, but a search of her pockets revealed that she didn't actually have her wand on her. The whole situation just kept getting better and better. A quick glance up and down the road showed that the hedge extended for as far as she could see in both directions. There would be no walking to a neighbour's and asking to use their Floo.

Out of options, Rose rang the bell that was attached to the gate and waited, not happy with the turn her vacation had taken. It was supposed to be relaxing, not nerve wracking!

A few minutes later, Mr. Malfoy came wandering up the path on the other side of the bars. Rose had been pacing back and forth in front of the gates, debating what she was going to say when someone answered the ring. She'd been praying it wouldn't be Scorpius; he'd probably just give her that icy glare again and leave her stranded there.

Mr. Malfoy's eyebrows rose when he caught sight of his guest.

"Are you the reason for my son's impressive rage?" he asked, knowing exactly who was on his doorstep. She was the little sprite who had been in possession of his son's heart for years and had yet to even realize it.

Rose shifted uncomfortably before rifling around in her pocket and handing him the Heart's Desire bottle. It was too embarrassing to have to explain what had happened to this man who had the same eyes as Scorpius, those eyes that could see right through her.

He read the instructions, raised a questioning eyebrow and smirked but didn't actually say anything.

"Is Scorpius here?" Rose asked, doing her best not to blush and knowing she was failing miserably. There was no doubt in her mind that he'd read the instructions and assumed she had some type of feelings beyond friendship for his son. It was an excruciatingly awkward moment.

Scorpius had barely introduced her to his parents before and now she was forced to talk to his intimidating father without the buffer of her friend. She wasn't even sure said friend would even welcome her once he saw her!

"I hope so. If not and you're here for someone else - that would just be awkward all around," he said, reading the instructions on the bottle one more time and laughing a little. Maybe his son's happiness with this girl wasn't such a lost cause after all.

"Mr. Malfoy..." she shifted uncomfortably again. "Could you not tell Scorpius about _how _I got here?"

Draco sighed; and maybe he'd been completely right in assuming that the two would never pull their heads out of their arses anytime soon and see that their feelings were returned. Astoria's voice was in his head telling him he shouldn't meddle in his son's love life, so he reluctantly nodded to the girl.

"I won't say a word. But _you _should," he said, letting her through the gate and leading her into the house.

"Scorpius! There's a Weasley in the foyer and it's very unlikely she's here for me!" he yelled over his shoulder in a surprisingly loud voice. Rose supposed that living in such a large house would necessitate yelling just to be heard between rooms. The ability to yell so loudly would certainly save on all kinds of walking, and it certainly explained why Scorpius was so good at making himself heard on the Quidditch pitch.

"I'm keeping this bottle," Mr. Malfoy whispered to Rose as he wandered towards his study. He wouldn't say a word about how she arrived, but he wouldn't _have _to if he _showed _his idiot son the bottle. If the boy tried to break _one _more of Draco's _very _expensive and rare quills out of anger, Draco was going to chuck the bottle at the boy's head and let him figure it out.

* * *

><p>Rose had been nervous since she'd realized she was at Malfoy Manor, but the feeling suddenly tripled. She would have thought meeting Draco Malfoy would be scarier than seeing his son, but apparently she was wrong. What she <em>should <em>have done was ask Mr. Malfoy if she could use the Floo and just go home with her metaphorical tail between her legs. Scorpius wouldn't even have to know that she'd been to his home at all.

Unfortunately, it seemed that there was a tiny sliver of Gryffindor in her after all, and it had chosen the most inopportune time to rear its fuzzy lion head – right before abandoning her again. Was bravery supposed to come in spurts like that? What use was it when brief periods of bravery were interspersed with such nerve-wracking bouts of anxiety?

She unconsciously started twisting her fingers together as her heart rate sped up. There were quiet footsteps thudding down the grand staircase in front of her, but she couldn't seem to bring herself to lift her eyes from the floor to look at him.

A pause in the steps probably meant that he'd seen her and was trying to decide if he should just leave her there and go back upstairs. Rose wouldn't blame him.

Since when was she nervous around _Scorpius_? This was the boy who sat on her in second year because she'd refused to share the last pumpkin pastry and he'd wanted it. He wasn't scary.

Except he was. _Terrifying _in fact.

A pair of large feet stopped in her field of vision, forcing her to look up and meet his eyes or just cower in front of him like some kind of idiot while he obviously waited for her acknowledgement. The former sounded like the better option of the two.

She blinked when her gaze drifted over his face; he looked _horrible_. His hair was unkempt and he was deathly pale, which really brought out the dark bags under his eyes.

"Have you been sick?" Rose asked, wide-eyed. She reached for him, but dropped her hand midway, remembering they weren't on speaking terms anymore.

His eyes followed the moment and darkened slightly when her hand fell. Other than that brief flash of emotion, his face didn't betray his feelings.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded flatly, ignoring her question.

She shuffled from one foot to the other, feeling immensely uncomfortable. Telling him about the potion was out, but she didn't want to lie outright...

"I miss you," she said, looking him right in the eye.

He was silent, watching her with a tired but unreadable gaze. Rose really wished he wasn't so hard to read when he was upset. She'd like a warning if he was going to start cursing her.

Her heart pounded while she waited to see what he was going to say.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**A/N: I know, I'm a horrible person for leaving the last chapter where I did, but here's the next one! It hasn't even been a whole week since the last one, so I'm hoping all is forgiven, or at least forgotten? **

**Anyway, thanks to all the lovely people who reviewed and to thestarlitrose and irianaceleste for betaing! **

**~Frosty **

"Are you going to say something?" she asked quietly when she grew tired of waiting for his answer. The huge Manor had an almost oppressive silence to it. Rose couldn't bear such complete silence for long; it went against her very being.

Weasley homes were _not _silent. If they were, something was usually horribly wrong. She just wasn't comfortable when there wasn't shouting and possibly the sound of an explosion somewhere in the background.

"You _miss _me?" he repeated, sounding incredulous. "You're the one who went and snogged me, fell in a lake, fled, and then turned around to snog that Scamander like you were trying to forget the previous kiss. I didn't think you were one of those girls who are so free with their affections."

Anger and embarrassment flooded her cheeks with warmth. "_'Free with my affections?'_You're one to talk! At least I didn't snog some anonymous brunette bimbo _before _going to snog my best mate," she countered. "And I didn't go on to _hate _said best mate, going so far as to turn her own cousin against her, leaving her with a desolate few months before her Christmas break."

She had to fight against her voice to keep it from cracking as she remembered those lonely few months. Despite her efforts, she had a sinking feeling that Scorpius could see right through her. Maybe she was a little hard on him... Still, it felt good to rant at him, even if he still hated her. Somewhere in there was her friend Scorpius, and Rose liked to think he was properly contrite after her speech.

His icy look softened slightly at the genuine pain in her voice.

"Look, we were both gits. How about I go back to my bimbo and you go back to your... Scamander. We'll remove the snogging of our best mates from the equation and we'll try to go back to what we were... before," Scorpius suggested. He didn't look entirely pleased with the suggestion, but Rose assumed it was because he didn't really like Lysander.

Rose pursed her lips, irritated that it had been so easy. Why couldn't they have done this months ago and saved her the suffering? Probably the slight resentment on her part that he would take such shameless advantage of her and then freeze her out for it had held her back. But he was Scorpius, and though occasionally selfish, he wasn't mean. She wasn't willing to lose a friendship that was so important to her over one little mistake in which they'd both been participants.

As her silence continued, he started to pull up his walls, taking her reticence as a negative answer and shutting her out.

Her eyes narrowed; she couldn't have _that_. She launched herself at him, winding her arms around his middle and pressing the side of her face against his chest. Squeezing just a little too tight, she smiled against his shirt; she'd missed him _so much_.

For a brief moment, he stiffened in surprise, but he quickly recovered and wound his arms around her as well.

"I missed you too," he said into her hair. She didn't even need to say it; her actions spoke for themselves.

They stood that way much longer than was customary for a simple hug between friends, but neither one wanted to let go. Scorpius eventually pulled away, gently extracting himself from her tight hold.

Before he could notice them, Rose swiped at the tears that had developed in her eyes. She had a feeling that Scorpius noticed anyway, but he was polite enough not to say anything.

"I'll save you a seat on the train back to school," she said. It was what she should have said to him back at the train station but he wouldn't have welcomed the offer back then.

Scorpius smiled at her. That genuine smile of his that lit up his face and what felt like the entire room. Rose mirrored the expression and basked in the glow of happiness. It was a relief to be friends with him again – even if they couldn't be anything more.

"Can you stay or were you just here to hug and run?" the blond asked, a mocking tilt to his lips.

"Well my parents don't know I'm here, they think I'm in my room with Albus..." She winced when his face fell before he could hide his reaction. "But I can stay for a little while."

Screw Albus, he could cover for her for an hour or so. He deserved it for sending her to Malfoy Manor mostly unsuspecting and entirely unprepared. Just because it had ended up working out for the best didn't mean she wasn't going to strangle him when she got back. What if Scorpius had yelled at her to get out of his house and then left her stranded on that hugely long, hedge-lined road out front? It was unlikely, but it was a possibility.

"Would you like a tour?" he offered.

She'd been curious about her friend's house for years, so it figured that the one chance she got at seeing the place would be when her parents didn't know where she was. There was some time before her parents would work themselves up to a frantic state over her disappearance, longer if Albus did a good job of covering for her, but she didn't want to push her luck with an extended absence.

"Can you show me the whole house in under an hour? I don't want to make my parents worry _too _much."

He glanced around what they could see of the entranceway. The Manor was _huge_, three floors and countless rooms. "There's no way I can show you everything in less than sixty minutes. But I can show you the most important room."

Without waiting to see if she was following, he started off towards the stairs. Rose trailed after him, rushing to keep up with his longer stride. It wasn't fair that his legs were long enough to skip steps, but she had to bounce up every one. She was doing twice the work just to go half his speed!

When he glanced back and saw that he was falling behind, he grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him. Rose held on tight, letting him tow her. He wasn't usually one for hand-holding, but he seemed to have lost himself in his enthusiasm about sharing his house. Rose would take what she could get.

They came to a stop in front of a large set of double doors.

"Where are we?" Rose asked. The doors were fancier than the rest that they'd passed, which was saying something in a Manor of gilt and marble. By no stretch were her parents in need of money, but if she had to guess, Rose would say one room of the Manor cost as much as her entire house.

"You'll see." He dropped her hand in order to use both of his to push open the heavy wood.

She crushed a pang at the loss of contact and focused her attention on what he was showing her. Catching sight of what was on the other side, Rose grinned. It was a library. A very impressive library.

"Why would you ever want to leave if you have _this _at home waiting for you?" she wondered, rushing past him and into the large room of books. In her hurry, she missed the fond smile he directed her way.

"Because some of us need human communication on top of the books we read," he answered, following her into the room. Scorpius took one of the comfortable lounging chairs by the fire to watch as she flitted from shelf to shelf, occasionally pulling a book off and examining it in that reverent way she had.

He folded his hands and slouched slightly, making himself comfortable. A niggling suspicion was telling him that she wasn't going to want to see much else in the Manor after visiting the library.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the Manor a clock chimed the hour, jolting Rose out of her book-induced trance. She turned to Scorpius, who was still lounging by the fire. "How long have I been here?"<p>

"Around forty-five minutes," he said, smirking when she paled.

"I have to go," she said, dancing from foot to foot. "Can I use your Floo?"

He raised a pair of pale eyebrows. "You don't have your wand with you?"

He knew she'd already passed her Apparation test, having had to listen to her constant panicking near the starting of the year as she'd tried to study everything she could. He'd been the first one to congratulate her – after he'd finished laughing at her bewilderment that no part of the test had been written after all the studying she'd done.

Rose tried not to blush. "No, I didn't exactly take a... conventional method of transportation here. I don't have my wand."

"You came to Malfoy Manor, alone and _without your wand_?"

"Your family isn't as scary as you seem to think," she said in her own defence. She had a feeling 'Albus tricked me' wasn't going to go over well.

Scorpius glanced towards the back of the library, where the books on Dark magic were shelved. Rose hadn't ventured in that area, he'd made sure of that. She was perfectly safe with him there, but there was a reason he'd never had his mixed-blood friends over to the Manor. It wasn't a safe place for anyone who wasn't Pureblood – and even then it was still dicey on occasion.

Picturing the huge rage her dad was probably working on, Rose didn't have time to wait while Scorpius scolded her for carelessness. "So I need to use the Floo. Please?"

He sighed. "The fireplace in my father's study is the closest that's hooked up to the network. Come with me."

They exited the library and moved down long hallways, twisting and turning until Rose was thoroughly lost. No wonder all the Malfoys managed to stay in shape, they had to hike just to go from one room to another. It also explained Scorpius' knack for navigating the castle so effortlessly, even in first year. He'd been finding his way through his labyrinth of a home since before he could walk.

The door was cracked open when they arrived at Mr. Malfoy's study.

"Say your goodbyes in the hall, I want to have a word with her before she leaves," a voice called from inside the room.

Scorpius shot an irritated glance at the door, but it melted when he saw that Rose was giving him a knowing grin. She knew he didn't trust his father not to say something embarrassing and wanted to be there to supervise their interactions. Mr. Malfoy probably knew this too and was just trying to annoy his son.

"I'll see you on the train," she said.

He nodded, glancing warily towards his father's study. Mr. Malfoy must have seen the expression because he called, "I'm not going to hurt her Scorpius, send her in, and don't hover outside the door."

Reaching out, Rose gave Scorpius' hand a reassuring squeeze before slipping through the door and closing it behind her with a quiet snick. She was a little nervous about facing Mr. Malfoy alone, but after reconciling with Scorpius, not much was going to be able to bring her down from her happy mood.

"Astoria's going to be _really _upset that she missed meeting you just to go shopping," Mr. Malfoy said, fondly running a hand down the side of a picture frame on his desk. Rose couldn't see what the frame contained, but she assumed it was a picture of his wife.

Lots of people seemed to think the Malfoys were in a cold, loveless marriage, but Rose could tell that Mr. Malfoy loved his wife very much.

"Thank you for letting me talk to him," she said politely, not sure what it was that Mr. Malfoy wanted.

He waved off her thanks. "I'm the one who should be thanking you. If you hadn't shown up, I'm sure he would have continued to be completely miserable and ruined everyone's holiday."

Rose had trouble believing that Scorpius had been so bothered by the loss of their friendship – though she supposed that just because he wasn't showing that he was troubled by something didn't mean it wasn't tearing him to pieces on the inside. It was just hard to picture him torn up about anything because he was usually so composed.

She watched as Mr. Malfoy fished around in his desk.

When he found what he'd been looking for and offered it to her, she was confused. It was just a normal little square of parchment that was completely blank. His desk was littered with bits of parchment, what was so special about that one?

Her question was answered when she touched the parchment. Across the creamy surface, gold writing grew, scrolling across the paper as if she was watching an invisible pen write it. The paper was inviting her to the annual Malfoy Christmas ball.

Surprised, she glanced up into the amused gaze of Mr. Malfoy. "You'll be the first Weasley ever invited to this particular event. It's good for two people, so bring that boyfriend of yours Scorpius is so fond of."

Rose was pretty sure Scorpius hated her boyfriend, so she didn't know what it was that Mr. Malfoy was playing at, but she couldn't see a reason _not _to attend. Her mum would probably be happy that she was getting out of the house. The worried looks her mum had been shooting her way for the entire holiday hadn't gone unnoticed by Rose.

"Thank you," she said with a genuine smile. She'd get to see Scorpius again before they went back to school. Even better, she'd get to see Scorpius all dressed up, something there was rarely an occasion for at school. Images of Scorpius looking dashing in his dress robes trotted through her head.

Rose had to mentally edit in that Slytherin brunette on his arm to stop the mental slideshow and focus on the Malfoy in front of her. It was impolite of her to space off like she had.

Mr. Malfoy darted his grey eyes over the fireplace and nodded his head in that direction. "Floo powder's over there."

That was an obvious dismissal if she'd ever heard one. It seemed he was done with her.

Rose grabbed a handful of Floo powder, threw it in the fire, and called out her address.

"How'd it go?" Albus demanded the moment she stumbled into her living room.

There were no angry parents waiting to subject her to an inquisition about her whereabouts or scold her for running off without properly notifying them as to when she planned on getting back. Luckily, Albus was alone. He must have come up with a reasonable explanation for her parents. Rose wasn't going to question it.

"We're speaking again," she said with a smile. "And Mr. Malfoy invited Lysander and me to the annual Malfoy Christmas ball."

Albus looked confused. "Lysander was invited as well?"

Shrugging, Rose produced the invitation and showed it to her cousin. "Apparently."

She left it with him and walked into the kitchen to write a letter to Lysander, asking him if he was available to join her at the ball.

* * *

><p>"Lily, there's no way I can leave the house in this, dad would kill me!" Rose said, standing with her back to the mirror and grimacing. She was wearing a deep green dress that, paired with her blood red lipstick and coppery-auburn hair, made her feel like the embodiment of Christmas spirit. From the front, her halter dress was relatively modest - if closer cut than most of her clothes - but when she turned around, almost her entire back was bared.<p>

"Shush. Just don't turn around where he can see you and you should be fine," Lily insisted. She was only half paying attention to her cousin's protests; most of her attention was focused on making Rose's unruly curls conform into a messy bun. The curls were more stubborn than Lily had thought they would be - which meant they were running out of time before they had to go. With one last vicious twist to the unruly locks, Lily managed to get the bun properly settled where it should be instead of tilted and off to the left as it had been resting before.

"Finished," the younger girl declared proudly, stepping back to admire her work. She was a hairstyling genius! Personally, Lily thought she deserved an award for taming that beast on top of her cousin's head. Scorpius better appreciate the effort.

Glad she was done with the hair-pulling stage of the preparation, Rose sighed in relief. However, it was short-lived relief. Her blue eyes moved towards the shoes Lily insisted she wear. They were sitting on the bed, looking relatively harmless, but Rose wasn't fooled. She knew they were a death-trap, just biding their time until they could kill her.

"Just put them on or I'll hex you. There's no way I'm putting all this work into making you look good just so you can ruin it by wearing sneakers with that outfit!" Lily threatened, having seen the direction of her cousin's gaze.

Sighing, Rose strapped the evil things to her feet. She had to admit, they did finish off her outfit rather nicely, but they were also starting to hurt her feet and she hadn't even _stood _yet.

Lily made sure to stand behind her as Rose descended the stairs. They didn't want to risk her dad catching sight of her back before Rose had a chance to grab Lysander to Apparate them both to Malfoy Manor.

Poor Lysander was waiting in the kitchen with Rose's family. He was wearing fancy dress robes that would look nice next to Rose's dress. His skin, however, was paler than usual and ruined the effect. People were supposed to look confident when dressed their best. This pallor wasn't his fault though, Rose assumed it was because her dad had an arm around the boy's shoulders and looked like he was trying to squeeze the life out of him before her mum noticed and put a stop to it.

Instead of the relief Rose expected to see on her boyfriend's face when he caught sight of her, he was merely blank. She didn't look _that _different, maybe he'd been Confunded?

"Are you ready to go?" she asked, hoping to snap him out of the mysterious trance and get going before her dad caught a look at the back of her dress – or lack thereof. Lily was hovering behind her, but there was only so much she could shield without looking ridiculous.

"Pictures!" Hermione said, jumping up from her seat and brandishing a camera like it was a wand and her daughter was a criminal trying to escape.

Internally, Rose sighed. Just what she needed, photographic evidence of her dress for her dad to fume over for years. Ron was a very out of sight out of mind type person, but a picture would be the perfect way for him to remember her dress for years to come.

Lysander came and stood beside Rose, putting his arm awkwardly around her shoulders at Hermione's insistence. All the while, Ron was glaring daggers at the boy, daring him to lower his arm just one _centimetre _because he was just _dying _to Avada him.

In her efforts to shield her back from the view of both the camera and her dad, Rose leant a little too close to Lysander, making her dad scowl even worse. She couldn't help but wonder if everyone's family was so insane or if she was alone in her crazy family.

"Five's enough mum!" Rose gritted out between teeth that were tightly clenched behind her fake smile. The sixth flash went off and she'd had enough. She was seeing spots in front of her vision and was clenching her teeth so hard that her jaw was starting to ache. What a lovely way to start the evening.

Turning on the spot while Lysander still had an arm around her shoulders and without her dad seeing her back was a challenge, but she managed it – at least, she _thought _she did. Rose and Lysander certainly ended up at the right place, but she wouldn't know if her dad had caught sight of her back until she got home.

"You're dad's never been that scary before," Lysander said when they'd regained their bearings.

"You weren't dating me before," she comforted, pulling out from under his arm and taking his hand instead.

Together, they turned around to face the intimidating metal gates that Rose had faced only days ago. She presented it with the invitation Mr. Malfoy had given her and it allowed them entry, creaking open with an almost ominous sound. Malfoy Manor really wasn't the most festive place to hold a holiday ball, while beautiful; it gave off a cold feeling that just wasn't conducive to Christmas spirit.

"Rose," Lysander whispered in a worried voice as they walked up the gravel drive. "Don't be alarmed, but it appears you've splinched most of the back off your dress."

Alarmed, she twisted to see her back, but it was just as before. "No I haven't," she sighed. She was going to have to have some words with Lily, she felt practically naked and Lysander's comment wasn't helping the situation.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**A/N: Finally the ball chapter! I know balls are overdone, but I had fun with this one. **

**As always, thanks to all the lovely people who reviewed and thanks to thestaritrose and irianaceleste for betaing.**

**On with the chapter!**

**~Frosty**

The party was already in full swing when they entered the Manor. People mingled in bunches near the walls and the refreshment table while dancers twirled in the middle of the room to music that came from a stringed quartet in the corner.

She ushered Lysander into the beautiful ballroom, both of them fighting not to gape at the grand decorations and the dazzling clothing. Immediately, Rose felt slightly awkward compared to the grace she was witnessing.

She continued to feel made up entirely of awkward angles until she caught sight of Goyle Junior, a boy who had been a few years ahead of her in Hogwarts. He walked up to a buffet table, tripped over his own feet and somehow landed face-first in a cake. When he managed to right himself again, he stumbled, got wrapped in a tablecloth, and ended up wearing the entire contents of the table.

The most amazing thing was that no one even batted an eye at his actions. It seemed it was a regular occurrence that Goyle make a fool of himself at formal occasions if the room's reaction was any indication.

With a show like that to follow, Rose could probably upend the punch bowl over her head without attracting much attention.

Over feeling uncomfortable, Rose gazed around the room, getting a closer look at the Purebloods surrounding her. It really was like another world. She could hardly imagine one of these polished people undoing the button on their pants after a big meal like was common in her uncouth family. Although she wouldn't put it past Goyle, he appeared to be an exception to the rule.

Unsurprisingly, Lysander seemed to have suffered from none of her insecurities. He was smiling serenely at anyone who glanced in their direction.

Rose couldn't see Scorpius anywhere, and she didn't know if she was grateful or disappointed. He didn't like Lysander, which was bound to make any encounter with her friend uncomfortable, but she had hoped that she would get to talk to him again. The scant hour they'd spent together hardly made up for the months of cold silence they'd endured.

Defeated, she turned her attention back to her date.

"There's a lot of mistletoe here, and I'm not wearing my Nargle protection," Lysander said worriedly.

Fighting not to roll her eyes, she patted his shoulder. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

He eyed a particularly large clump of the Nargle-attracting plant that was tied to the chandelier in the middle of the room. The boy was probably concerned about all the Nargles in the area gravitating around it and creating some kind of Nargle vortex that would steal the shoes off of everyone in the room.

Her eyebrows drew together in a scowl as she shook her head slightly at herself. She'd been spending entirely too much time with Lysander of late; she was starting to _think _like him. Immediately, she berated herself for being so mean. Lysander was a wonderful person; he just had a few... strange habits and beliefs.

Everyone seemed to be sipping from delicate glasses of champagne that sparkled in the candlelight. Rose and Lysander were just about to head off to find themselves glasses of their own when Rose was suddenly jolted to the side as someone collided with her and wrapped in a tight hug.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you properly!" said an excited voice right into Rose's ear. The owner of said voice was still squeezing the redhead tightly.

"I'll... um, go get us those drinks," Lysander said awkwardly. He shuffled away towards the drink table, making sure to give the mistletoe bunches floating around the room a wide berth.

Rose hugged the woman back, feeling immensely uncomfortable and wondering when she was going to be released. She couldn't see the woman's face because of the angle of the hug, and the elegant, flowery perfume the woman was wearing was unfamiliar.

"Mum, you're scaring the guests," drawled a familiar voice from behind them. Immediately, Rose's stomach dove for her feet at the sound. She was going to have to do something about controlling her reactions to him; it would make holding a conversation difficult if she was forever starting at his voice. On the bright side, she now knew who it was who had been embracing her. She probably should have figured it out sooner; there were very few people at the gathering who would throw themselves at a Weasley – or anyone really.

The woman released Rose and smiled up at her son.

Turning around, Rose saw Scorpius – and his stunning date.

"Rose?" Scorpius said in disbelief, looking like he'd been punched in the stomach. Apparently he hadn't recognised who it was that his mum had been smothering until she'd turned around.

"Um, Merry Christmas, Scorpius," she said, feeling a little exposed under his stare. Did he have to look at her so... intently? It was making her uncomfortable. He probably thought she was dressed like a trollop – though he really shouldn't be pointing fingers, considering that his _date _was wearing a scrap of fabric so small it was a wonder she could move without flashing some part of her anatomy that wasn't supposed to be on display in public.

Astoria was looking between the two of them, smiling. She held her hand out to Rose, breaking the trance the girl had fallen into while locking eyes with her son.

"Astoria Malfoy," she said, shaking Rose's hand. "I was quite disappointed when I heard you'd stopped by while I was shopping."

"That's what I told her, love," said Mr. Malfoy, coming up behind his wife and wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Draco! Where did you disappear to?" Astoria asked with a smile while Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"I had to go... take care of something," Mr. Malfoy said nonchalantly. Even Rose could see he looked entirely too proud of himself; he was up to something.

Astoria looked like she was mildly concerned about what he'd done as well, but she visibly dismissed the thought as Rose watched her. Years of practice had probably taught her that sometimes it was best that she didn't know – plausible deniability and all that.

"Scorpius, why don't you have a dance with Rose here?" Mr. Malfoy suggested, possibly as a ploy to take his wife's mind off of whatever shenanigans he'd gotten into.

Scorpius sent his father a warning look that only someone who knew him well would be able to detect behind his polite mask. "That wouldn't be very polite to my _date _Father," he said, gesturing to the tall, beautiful blonde in the clingy red dress that had plastered herself to his side.

Despite Scorpius' efforts to avoid the dance, as soon as Astoria heard the idea, she was thrilled.

"Oh you _must _dance! Charity can come keep me company for one song," Astoria insisted, grabbing said girl's arm and pulling her away from her son.

"It's Chastity," the girl corrected, glaring daggers at Rose.

"Well, we know which one suits you better, dear," Astoria said with a polite smile. Mr. Malfoy and Scorpius both hid identical smirks while Rose could only stare in shock. She obviously needed to stay on Astoria's good side.

Chastity blushed while trying to burn Rose with her eyes. Rose would almost feel sorry for the girl if she hadn't been horrible to her from the moment they'd met.

Under the combined pointed looks of both his parents, Scorpius finally offered a hand to Rose, giving a formal little bow.

Wrapping her smaller fingers around his larger ones, Rose tried not to blush at her discomfort with the situation. His parents were watching them with too much expectation on their faces. What did they think would happen?

Scorpius led them out to the middle of the dance floor. There was a moment of awkwardness before he moved forward, sliding his arms around her waist as she placed hers on his shoulders. The string quartet in the corner started up a very slow tune, the kind of song that dancers could really only sway to.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Mr. Malfoy sliding his wand back inside his pocket. She suspected that he had something to do with the song change, but she couldn't figure out his motivations. Had he only invited to the ball to make her feel uncomfortable? If he had, he was succeeding.

When his palms hit bare skin, Scorpius gave her a surprised look, having not noticed how much of her back was bare while his mother was hugging her.

Rose needed to distract herself from the little sparks that were spreading out from the point where his skin lay against hers before she did something stupid, like snog him in full view of everyone even remotely important in Pureblood society.

"If you tell me I've splinched the back off of my dress, I'm going to hex you," she said, breaking the strange tension that had built between them. There were still sparks radiating throughout her, but they weren't the all-consuming distraction they'd been moments prior.

Scorpius spread his warm hands across the bare expanse of skin on her back. "I rather like your dress," he murmured, tilting his head down slightly to bring his lips closer to her ear.

The tension was back again, and so were those thrice damned sparks! Merlin, how had she not noticed how attractive Scorpius was prior to that blasted hallucination? She had known on an objective level, but she'd never really _felt _it before that vision. Now she could barely hold herself together enough to have a conversation without the sparks and butterflies threatening to overwhelm her.

More than anything, she wanted to just tighten her hold and soak him in, but she _couldn't_. Rose could feel the stare of Charity, or Chastity – whatever was her name – burning into her back. Scorpius' hands were doing the same thing, but in a more pleasant way.

"Where's that boyfriend of yours?" Scorpius asked, sneering the word boyfriend into a curse word. His fingers curled in reflexive anger against her back, unconsciously kneading her skin.

"He went to get champagne and hasn't come back yet." Worry over Lysander was enough to force her to focus again. What could be taking him so long?

"His loss." Scorpius didn't look concerned in the least that Lysander was gone. If he hadn't shown up almost as soon as Lysander had left, Rose would have been worried that the blond had done something to her poor boyfriend.

"Who's your lovely date?" she asked in a similar tone to the one he'd used to ask about hers.

"She's a friend of the family."

Rose glanced over towards where his parents were standing with Chastity. Neither of the older Malfoys were even looking at the girl, they were both focused on the dance floor.

"Your family doesn't seem all that fond of her," Rose said dryly.

"Distant friend," he amended without a pause.

Rose chuckled, shaking her head at his lie.

He pretended to glare for a moment but quickly gave up and cracked a smile.

Suddenly, he developed a mischievous twinkle in his eye that set Rose on edge. He leant down so that his lips were just brushing her ear, his breath making goose bumps develop across her bare skin.

"She's not a friend at all; she's quite annoying actually," he whispered conspiratorially.

Rose snickered, not wanting him to pull away, but knowing he was going to have to in the very near future. She was pretty sure the song would end soon. Titling her head slightly, she was able to rest it on his shoulder. The extra inches she'd gained from her heels made their height difference less pronounced. Her eyes drifted closed of their own accord as she finally gave into the urge to lean against him.

She knew she was being stupid, but she was just so _tired _of keeping herself away from him. It was a special occasion; he wouldn't begrudge her a little closeness, would he?

"Rose," Scorpius said, his voice holding a strange note. "Don't panic, but there's a sprig of mistletoe above us."

She snapped her eyes open and looked up. Shit. There really was mistletoe up there. And she didn't even have her Nargle protecting earrings! Rose frowned; she was spending _way _too much time with Lysander, it was making her strange as well. Or maybe it was just the proximity to a certain blond and then possibility of a kiss that was making her frazzled.

"Do you think it will just go away?" she whispered.

Scorpius snorted and glanced over at his mum, who twirling her wand and sharing a suspiciously triumphant look with her husband. "For some reason, I have a feeling it's going to be persistent."

"What do we do?" She tried to put some space between them so she could more easily see his face. She was hoping the distance would also help her think better.

His arms tightened around her, keeping her moulded against him and unable to move away.

"If I kiss you, will you run away again?" His voice sounded a little pained and Rose felt bad for fleeing the last time they'd kissed. She'd been doing her best to not think about that particular incident; it was necessary for her sanity.

"I can't make any promises," she said sadly. Their friendship was already rocky enough from the last time they'd kissed; another similar incident could drive a permanent wedge between the two of them. Not to mention her poor heart could only take so much torment.

If only she could take control of the situation... Her eyes widened with realization; she had an idea.

"Here, I'll kiss _you_." She brought her hands up to either side of his face and pulled him down a bit so she could reach. Slowly, she placed a chaste kiss on his lips.

At the contact, his arms tightened around her, but she didn't deepen the kiss. She held it a moment too long, but she kept it chaste. How could something nearly completely innocent still break her heart?

There was something unfamiliar in his eyes as she pulled away, but she didn't get time to wonder what it was.

"I think that's enough now," said a bitter voice.

Rose whipped around to see that Scorpius' date had managed to escape from his parents and was tapping her foot irritably. The blonde girl shot Rose a glare that could peel paint and pulled Scorpius towards a different part of the dance floor. He shot Rose an apologetic look but allowed himself to be dragged.

Suddenly not in the mood to do anything but curl up in bed, Rose shuffled off the dance floor, looking for her boyfriend. She hoped Lysander hadn't seen that kiss, he was understanding enough about her aversion to kissing so he didn't need to see her kissing other people.

Grabbing a glass of champagne from a passing waiter with a tray, she set off looking for her missing boyfriend. It had been a while since she'd last seen him; she was starting to get really worried.

Twenty minutes later and well into her fifth glass of champagne, Rose _finally _found Lysander. He was just stumbling into the room, looking ruffled.

"Where were you?" she asked, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. If he'd left her to feel uncomfortable and make polite conversation with Purebloods who looked at her like she was a strange animal in the zoo just because he wanted to find some protection from the Nargles, she wasn't going to be pleased. No matter what advances had been made in the wizarding world as a whole, the majority of Pureblood society would always see her as lesser because one set of her grandparents were Muggles and the other were blood traitors.

No Nargle repelling accessory was worth facing that alone.

"Someone shoved me into a closet," he said, glancing nervously around the ballroom. "I'm pretty sure it was Mr. Malfoy."

"Well, this party's just been uncomfortable on all fronts then," she sighed, pointedly not looking over to where she knew Scorpius to be dancing much too close with his date. Chastity indeed.

"Do you want to get out of here? All this time in the presence of Narlges is obviously wearing on your mood," Lysander said, watching warily as she finished off her champagne in one big gulp.

"Yeah, let's," Rose said, linking her arm through his. "We just have to go thank our hosts, then we can get out of here."

Astoria smiled when she noticed Rose approaching. She elbowed her husband, drawing his attention to the approaching pair as well.

"Rose! Are you having a good time?" Astoria asked.

Forcing a smile on her face, Rose nodded. "I am thank you. Unfortunately, it seems Lysander is feeling a little under the weather," she shot a pointed look at the smirking Mr. Malfoy, "so we're going to leave now."

Astoria nodded, elbowing her husband a little harder. While she agreed with making the children dance together, she didn't approve of shoving guests into coat closets and locking them inside.

"Come back and visit soon, okay?" Astoria said. She'd been quite hurt that her son adamantly refused to invite his friends over to their home. He was a little hung up on how 'dangerous' it was. As long as they stayed out of the East wing, any guests would be perfectly safe - mostly.

"Alright." They shared nods and Rose awkwardly stood there while Astoria hugged her once more.

"The Malfoys are a scary bunch," Lysander commented as they walked towards the huge gate.

Rose disagreed. They were a little intimidating at first, but the Malfoys were kind – if they liked you. Unfortunately, she had a feeling that Lysander was one of the many people that they _didn't _like.

"They're not so bad," was all she said in their defence. Rose knew that her experience at the party and Lysander's greatly differed and didn't want to say more on the subject.

They crunched the gravel in silence, listening to the faded sounds of the party and the whistling of the wind. Rose shivered as the icy fingers of the winter wind crawled over her back. _Why _had Lily thought it was a good idea to only wear half a dress in _December_? She would have almost preferred to wear a Weasley sweater and jeans.

"Are you cold?" Lysander asked. His hands moved to take off his robe for her to wear.

"Not really, we'll be able to Apparate in a moment." There were only a few more steps before they would be outside the Manor's wards and she would be able to Apparate them back to her house.

"This night didn't exactly go the way I was expecting," he said, trying again to make conversation.

Rose didn't want to talk, she felt miserable. In the morning, she would probably feel bad for her rudeness and apologise, but at the moment, all she could focus on was the image of Scorpius and his slag of a date. What did he even see in her?

She scoffed at herself. Scorpius wasn't exactly interested in the girl for her _personality_.

That little kiss wasn't even allowed to enter her thoughts; it was best she didn't think about it.

When she caught sight of the depressed look on her boyfriend's face, Rose sighed. She was a horrible person and had no idea why Lysander put up with her.

"I'm sorry, Lysander. I've had too much to drink and it's put me in a foul mood. This night didn't turn out the way I expected either." She took his arm and prepared to Apparate them.

"Thank you for coming with me though."

He shrugged. "That's what boyfriends are for."

Fighting off a twinge of pain and not even understanding why, Rose turned them on the spot instead of answering.

"ROSE! Where the bloody hell is the rest of your dress?" Ron yelled from behind her the moment they popped into the kitchen. That was unfortunate; it seemed that her dad had been behind her, placed just right to get a good look at her back and its lack of covering.

Closing her eyes in exasperation, Rose turned to face her raging father. He was already red and working his way towards puce, which meant she had only moments before he exploded. In a rush, she shoved Lysander towards the Floo and rushed up the stairs.

"I'm really tired! Night dad!" she called over her shoulder.

When she got to her room, she made sure to cast strong locking charms on the wood.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**A/N: I have so many essays due! And yet... here I am, procrastination with fanficiton. Good for those of you who were waiting for the next chapter, not all that beneficial to my marks. *sigh***

**Anyway, have fun reading this, I certainly had fun writing it! The scene that takes up most of the last half of the chapter was actually written ahead of time while I was still near the beginning of this story. I knew it **_**had **_**to be included as soon as the idea popped into my head.**

**As always, thanks to all the wonderful people who reviewed and to thestarlitrose and irianaceleste for betaing!**

**~Frosty**

Rose woke up to a loud banging on her door. She snapped a barely-understandable protest and buried her head under her pillow. The banging continued.

"Rose! It's Christmas and we're waiting for you to open presents!" Hugo yelled impatiently through the wood.

Since it was morning and, prior to Hugo, no one had tried to bang her door down. Rose could only assume that her mum had given her dad a talking to and convinced him to drop the issue of her dress - or at least forget about it until Christmas was over. That or he was waiting for her to leave the relative safety of her room so he could pounce like a tomato-coloured tornado.

With a sigh, she dragged herself from bed, frowning at the slight headache she had from a tad too much champagne. In the larger scheme of things, a little headache was nothing, but it did serve to add that extra bit of misery to her already gloomy day. A headache was not something to have prior to a Weasley gathering; it was guaranteed to only worsen after exposure to too many of the redheaded bunch.

She really wasn't going to have a Merry Christmas, she could already tell.

* * *

><p>"Rosie! I have a few questions for you!" George said that night after the usual Weasley Christmas dinner.<p>

Everyone had fallen into that happy state one reaches after plentiful good food and good company. Not Rose though, her frown stood out amongst the flushed cheeks and large grins that the rest of the family sported.

George sidled up beside his moping niece. She had been slightly surly to everyone that day, but he had never been deterred by a bad attitude. In fact, bad attitudes attracted him; a person in a foul mood required a lot less work to provoke, and he did so enjoy provoking people.

"Can't it wait, Uncle George?" she asked, begging with her eyes for some solitude. Unfortunately for her, the Weasley's weren't exactly a group that were particularly fond of solitude. They didn't believe in it for themselves and rarely allowed it in others.

George grinned. "No can do Rosie. This is an important business matter. Albus tells me that he gave you a bottle of the new Heart's Desire potion for Christmas and that you tried it. I want to know if there were any side effects."

Knowing her uncle wasn't going to give up until he had his answers, she turned her blue eyes to him as she thought about what had happened when she'd taken the potion.

The only side effect she could think of was the strengthened desire to snog her best mate, but that was a recurring issue with her. She was pretty sure that particular problem was completely unrelated to the potion she'd taken.

"None that I'm aware of," she said in a monotone, hoping to end the conversation as soon as possible. She wanted to get back to her brooding and whatnot.

"Were you expecting any?" she added as a suspicious afterthought. It was always best to ask lots of questions when sampling products from the joke shop, particularly those products in which her Uncle George had taken a special interest.

"I'm not actually sure yet." His grin was huge and slightly evil. George had no concerns about testing his products on his family. "It's still in the testing stages. I had a craving for pizza and mustard with butter and ended up in the middle of the neighbour's kitchen. His pregnant wife was there while she had a midnight snack. We're trying to work on invasions of privacy..." He rubbed his jaw while he said this. Rose assumed it was because the neighbour had found him in the kitchen, eating pizza with his wife and punched him.

"If it's any help, the wards of Malfoy Manor kept me out, I appeared outside the front gate." Her eyes widened the moment the words were out of her mouth; George wasn't the type to let a secret like that lie.

To her shock, he didn't seem surprised about her mention of Malfoy Manor. Instead he seemed intrigued.

"The wards there kept you out, you say? Interesting..." He stood up, clapping her on the shoulder. He was already shuffling around in his pocket for the pad of paper he kept there.

Rose winced at the contact. Lysander had bought her an Australian Hugging Cactus for Christmas. She'd opened the box it had arrived in, and the stupid plant had immediately embraced her, embedding its long spines deep in her shoulders and back. Her dad had raged against Lysander as he put the plant out in the cold, where it wouldn't be able to hug anyone.

Despite her mum's skill with healing charms, some of the puncture marks hadn't disappeared completely. She was left with small purple bumps on her skin that sent tiny jolts of pain through her system every time she stretched too far or put pressure on them. They'd take a while to fully heal.

Rose wasn't sure what it was that Lysander had been thinking when he sent such a violent gift. It had probably been something along the lines of: hugs were good and so were plants so she'd enjoy a combination of the two.

Her Uncle George wandered back into the room, scribbling furiously on his pad of paper. Rose was a tad concerned that he was going to go to Malfoy Manor himself to examine the wards to find out what it was about them that had kept her out. She may have just unleashed her Uncle George on the unsuspecting Malfoys.

* * *

><p>Scorpius scowled at his trunk as he sat on it in the foyer of the Manor. His parents were <em>late<em>.

If they didn't show up soon, he was going to Apparate to the station without them.

It was really just a formality that he allowed them to accompany him to the train anyway, and now they were going to make him miss the thing. His mum insisted on accompanying him to the train station despite the fact that he was old enough to Apparate on his own. It was one of those sentimental mum-type things that even Malfoy women didn't seem to be immune to.

"Your mum's not here yet?" Draco asked in surprise as he ambled into the room, his hands resting casually in his pockets.

The younger man didn't even glance towards his father, his eyes focused on the stairs as if he could make Astoria appear there with his gaze alone. "No."

Draco rolled his eyes at the boy's theatrics. "You wouldn't be in such a foul mood if you hadn't botched up the plan at Christmas."

"What _plan_?" Scorpius asked, looking like he was ready to strangle someone.

One of the major downfalls of living with someone who was both a Slytherin and a Malfoy was the _scheming_. Merlin, could it ever get out of hand. Nothing pissed Scorpius off quicker than finding out about a plot concerning him after the fact. It made his blood boil.

"Do you think it was an _accident _that Rose's little boyfriend ended up in a broom closet for the duration of your dance with her?"

Groaning, Scorpius shifted back so he could bang his head on the wall. That's just what he needed; another reason for Rose to be brassed off at him. Knowing her temper, she'd probably think he asked his father to invite her louse of a boyfriend to the Manor just to abuse him.

Misinterpreting the reason behind the groan, Draco patted Scorpius' shoulder. "Calm down, there's hope for you yet."

He reached into his pocket and handed over the deep blue bottle over to his son. Sure, he'd left Rose the impression that he wasn't going to tell Scorpius about that particular detail of her visit, but his loyalties were to his family first and the chit should have known that.

After reading the label, Scorpius looked at his father in disbelief. "You think an empty bottle of some Heart's Desire potion is going to make everything better?"

"No, but it's proof that all hope's not yet lost. That bottle is how she got here the day I gave her the invitation to the Christmas ball. It was her heart's desire to see you."

The younger man stared hard at the bottle while his father watched on. Scorpius was about to say something when he heard a distant clicking.

"Are we ready to go?" Astoria called, clacking into the room on her heels.

Quickly, Scorpius stashed the bottle in his pocket. He'd ponder on that later, when his parents weren't standing there, sharing that irritating knowing look of theirs.

* * *

><p>Rose sent Scorpius a questioning glance. He was sitting across from her in their train compartment with a confused and troubled expression. His hand kept touching something in his pocket, and every time he did, the swirling conflict in his eyes only intensified.<p>

When he caught her look, he shook his head slightly, telling her not to ask.

Despite – or possibly because of - their interactions over the winter holidays, things were still a little strange between them. Rose suspected it might have something to do with the fact that Lysander was still spending a lot of time with her. The hatred Scorpius held for Lysander only seemed to increase as time passed. She could understand why Scorpius would be upset that Lysander was taking up some of her time, but a personal vendetta against the bloke was taking it a little far.

She and Scorpius' reaction upon seeing one another once again after the awkward kiss over the holidays had been almost anticlimactic. Scorpius had given her and Albus both a small smile and nod on the platform, then he had joined them while they searched for a compartment.

Conversations had flowed with near-normalcy, leaving Rose more confused than ever. How could they still be acting the same while so much had changed? The commonality of their situation only reinforced Rose's belief that something had only changed for _her _and not him.

"Well," Albus said, looking between his reticent friends and trying to break the tension. "I had a good holiday, what about everyone else?"

Rose and Scorpius glared at him.

* * *

><p>Sipping the tart raspberry tea, Rose tried to think of something she could say to break the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the table she shared with Scorpius. They'd made small talk for a moment when they arrived in class, but without Albus there to act as a buffer, they had been unable to keep up a conversation.<p>

Maybe everything wasn't as normal she she'd thought – not that she assumed it meant something. She refused to believe Scorpius thought of her as something other than a friend. It would crush her when he proved her wrong by flaunting a relationship with another one of his slags.

"This is ridiculous!" she grumbled, more to herself than anyone else. _She _was being ridiculous.

Scorpius looked at her, an eyebrow raised in silent inquiry.

"We used to talk about _everything _and now we can't seem to hold a conversation." Her head thumped down to rest against her folded arms.

"Not everything," Scorpius said, staring into his tea. "It's what we're not saying that ruining us." It seemed that he was talking more to his tea than to her.

With a dark look, he tipped his head back and gulped down the steamy liquid.

Rose knew what she was hiding, but what was it that he was keeping to himself? The small part of her that was eternally optimistic told her that maybe they were hiding the same thing.

Before that idea could root itself too deeply in her mind, she ruthlessly crushed it with memories of the brunette at Hogwarts and the blonde from the ball. She'd rather be friends with Scorpius and actually talk to him than just occasionally shag him in dark corners -or wherever he took those slags.

Copying her friend, Rose finished off her tea as well. As soon as she set the porcelain down on the table, he snatched it away and thrust his own in front of her.

Apparently they were going to pretend he hadn't said anything.

Silence reigned once more while Rose flipped through her book, Scorpius following her motions with his eyes but not moving to do any work of his own.

"You've been poisoned and it's eating you up on the inside. The only cure for this poison is sharing it so it can become something good," she said. Rose scowled down at her notes. "That didn't make any sense. This is why mum told me I shouldn't take this class," she said in exasperation, laughing at herself.

Rose failed to notice that Scorpius hadn't joined in with her laughter, he was looking contemplative.

"Are you going to do mine?" she asked.

He jolted slightly as her words startled him out of the world of thoughts in which he'd accidentally immersed himself. Silver eyes flicked down to the dregs of her tea, looking bored. "Your boyfriend is going to die a slow, painful death," he said with relish.

Professor Trelawney overheard the portent of doom. She gasped and rushed over to check the teacup for herself. "Class, we have a budding seer amongst us!" she excitedly exclaimed. "You could all learn something from Mr. Malfoy here."

"Can I ask, Mr. Malfoy, what it is that you've done to open your inner eye so quickly? Last class you were less than enthusiastic in your studies," she said excitedly. Her owlish eyes blinked expectantly at him from behind her thick spectacles.

"I find that with the right motivation, these things just come to me." He smirked at the glaring Rose the entire time he spoke.

Rose knew very well that his only motivation was a hatred of Lysander and a mind disturbingly well-versed in the darker side of magic. While his father no longer practiced Dark magic, the Malfoy library was stocked with tonnes of literature on the subject. Scorpius probably knew a spell or two for slow, painful deaths just from light reading in the family library.

When the professor was finished fawning, Scorpius grinned smugly while Rose tried to burn him with her eyes.

"Don't be jealous Weasley, not all of us can have innate talent such as mine."

She cast a stinging hex at him under the table, sniggering when he jumped and nearly fell from his chair. It seemed she'd come across a little inspiration of her own. She foresaw a lot more stinging hexes in his future if he kept annoying her.

* * *

><p>"Where're you going?" Albus asked when Rose came out of her room. He was seated in the Head's common room with Scorpius. They were all set for a quiet evening in front of the warm fire. Sometimes the two of them liked to have what they called a "boy's night" where they just lounged around and drank. Rose didn't really know what else they did; she was never invited to boy's nights.<p>

"Lysander said he has a surprise for me," she said, avoiding making eye contact with Scorpius. There was bound to be an expression there that she wouldn't like, and it wasn't fair to Lysander to go meet him after a fight with Scorpius that would keep her furious for the entire night.

She rushed from the room before there was time for their silence to become uncomfortable for her.

* * *

><p>Rose scratched at her hair as she opened the portrait guarding the Head's common room. It took a conscious effort not to slam the door; her mood wasn't the best at the moment, but it wasn't fair to take it out on the painting's occupant.<p>

She jumped when she caught sight of the blond figure lounging on the sofa, his sharp grey eyes trained on her. There was amusement in those grey eyes. She wasn't sure if she could handle his amusement in her current mood – not without hexing him.

"How do you keep ending up with plants in your hair?" he asked, trying to hold back laughter.

She tried to tug one of the sprigs of mint tangled into her braids, but it was futile. Lysander's spell has twisted her hair into a mass of tangled braids and mint that was going to take her forever to unwind.

Before answering, she took a second to suppress her irritation. There was still a little bitterness in her voice when she spoke. "Lysander says that Moon Frogs are particularly bad this year and I need extra protection because they've been known to eat red hair. Apparently, mint's been known to keep them away."

His eyes had dimmed slightly at the mention of Lysander, but at the end of her statement laughter burst forth. Who wouldn't laugh after a story like that?

In a huff, Rose stomped past him to head to her room, still scratching at the itchy sprigs. Her discomfort didn't help her foul mood.

It was one thing to _understand _why he was laughing, but it was another to stand there while he laughed at her. She was going to her room to sulk while she tried to get the bloody plants out of her hair.

He reached out and caught her wrist. "Wait. I didn't mean to take the piss, but there's no way you can't see the humour in the situation."

The rigid posture she had assumed lessened, but she didn't laugh with him. Maybe she'd be able to see the hilarity of the situation later, but the events of her short night were still too fresh.

"Hair incident aside, why are you back so soon? I thought you were going on a _date_," he said the word date with immense distaste.

"He used a spell to braid mint into my hair and then tried to take me on a picnic by the lake," Rose said.

His silver eyes slid to the window, where snowflakes pelted the glass as a blizzard raged outside. He started laughing again.

Rose glared. Her hand reached up to scratch at a particularly persistent itch above her ear. Maybe if she wasn't so itchyand annoyed, she would have been able to laugh as well, but she was, so she couldn't.

Scorpius' laughter calmed down and he noticed her scratching.

"Come here," he said, gesturing to the floor at his feet. At her confused expression, he elaborated. "You're not going to be able to get those braids out yourself. Come here."

Willing to do anything to relieve the itching, Rose moved closer to him than she'd allowed herself in a long time. She hesitantly perched on the ground between his feet, her posture rigid so she wasn't actually touching any part of him.

"Where's Albus?" she asked, covering her discomfort with words.

"He got called away to deal with a disagreement between prefects."

They fell into silence once again.

With surprising skill, his long fingers started unwinding the braids and plucking mint from her hair. She unconsciously leaned into his touch, tilting her head back slightly to press his hands closer to her skin.

Every time he unwound a braid, he massaged the patch of scalp where it had started, eliminating the itch. He would then run his fingers through the freshly-freed hair a few times to make sure all the mint was gone.

Rose was in heaven. She loved to have her hair touched; it always turned her to a puddle of happiness. Her eyes started to drift shut as she moved closer to the sofa, wiggling backwards until she was bracketed by his legs. A barely-audible moan of contentment escaped her lips unbidden, making his hands freeze in their soothing movements.

"Sorry," she hastily apologised. "Don't stop."

At that moment, she would have given anything to see his face, to see in his eyes what it was he was thinking, why he had stopped. Instead, she had to stare out the window and hope to once again find her previous state of bliss.

She _should _have been embarrassed that she got so carried away that she made an embarrassing sound, but she deserved some rest! It was just too tiring to worry about everything all the time. She'd be embarrassed _later_, when he wasn't so freely touching her.

Slowly, as if unsure, his fingers once again began gently unravelling her braids.

It took her a little longer than the first time, but she was eventually able to relax once again. So entranced by his touch was she, that she didn't notice when he ran out of braids to unravel and just started trailing his fingers through her hair and over her scalp.

She did however, notice when his hands travelled down to her shoulders. A hiss of pain was startled from her as he touched one of the marks from the blasted hugging cactus.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worried that he'd injured her somehow.

Gently, Rose rubbed the spot he'd pressed, trying to soothe the dull throbbing that had begun."I got an Australian Hugging Cactus for Christmas... It hugged me," she mumbled, a little embarrassed about her run-in with a _plant_.

He wasn't touching her anymore, but she could still feel him tense behind her. "What bloody _imbecile _would give something so dangerous as a _present_?" he hissed.

"It wasn't meant to be dangerous," she said defensively.

Scorpius scoffed. "Let me guess; that sodding boyfriend of yours was the one. And he only had the _best _intentions when he inadvertently maimed you?"

Her silence was all the answer he needed. Behind her back, he shook his head in irritation while he fished out his wand

"Let me see."

At her wide-eyed shock, he elaborated.

"Mother has one in the greenhouse at the Manor, and she taught me a special spell to heal the wounds caused by its thorns after it grabbed me one day."

Rose hesitated. The cactus had the longest spines on the ends of its 'arms' and virtually none towards its middle, but she still had a few shallower punctures near one collarbone. If she was going to show him all of the marks so he could heal them properly, she'd practically have to remove her shirt, and she didn't think it was a good idea to be shirtless around Scorpius. To have his hands on her bare skin once again... She shivered at the thought.

No, it was best she kept her shirt on.

Having known her for years, Scorpius could tell she was getting ready to refuse him. He didn't like to be refused, particularly when he only had the best intentions.

"It's not like I ordered you to strip naked. Just undo the top few buttons of your blouse and pull it down over your shoulders. You'll still be covered _far _more than you were at the Christmas ball."

Blushing at the memory, Rose moved her fingers to the buttons, knowing he wasn't going to relent until he got his way. Malfoys _always _got what they wanted – at least, that's what Scorpius had frequently said when they were younger.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**A/N: The horrible week of many essays is complete! I only have two due next week, so I have some spare time again! And I get to sleep. Ah, wonderful sleep, how I missed it. **

**There's a riddle in this chapter that doesn't belong to me anymore than the rest of the characters do (which is not at all). **

**Thanks to all the wonderful people who reviewed and to Irianaceleste and thestarlitrose for their beta work!**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

**~Frosty**

Before she lost her nerve, Rose undid several buttons on her shirt – just enough to widen the collar and slide the sides down over the tops of her arms. She was still perched on the ground between Scorpius' legs, so she couldn't see his face or what he was doing with his hands. It heightened her anticipation of his touch.

While she was staring straight ahead, mortified about how much she wanted his hands on her, Rose missed the darkened look of desire in his eyes as he took in the bared skin. He sat there for a moment, lost in imaginings of what would happen should she undo those last few buttons and reveal herself completely to his greedy eyes.

It took a huge effort for him to make himself clinical about the whole thing. Clinical and unaffected. Yes, that was him. He was a pillar of unaffectedness.

All he had to do was avoid inappropriate thoughts.

He swept her silky hair to the side, trying not to notice that it caught the firelight, making it shine like rubies and smelled divine. It was a losing battle trying to avoid trailing his fingertips across her skin under the pretence of feeling for the raised purple scar tissue. He had to ignore how wonderful it would feel to lean down and put his lips on the smooth column of her neck, to find her pulse-point using his lips, and then suck and nibble until she was putty in his hands. As he dragged his wand along her skin, healing the only imperfections to be found, he was all the while imagining it was his tongue that was tracing the path across the milky expanse.

Yes, he was completely clinical and detached about the whole process. He would be able to forget about the entire incident once he murdered that idiot boyfriend of hers for injuring her. Probably.

Rose sighed in relief when Scorpius cast the healing spell on the first scar. A wonderful, cool sensation soaked into the area, numbing and then eliminating the pain she'd been feeling for almost a whole week.

It was amazing how she somehow became used to a constant dull ache across her back and shoulders. She'd barely noticed it unless she bumped herself on something, but it was _such _a relief to be free of the pain that had been plaguing her since Christmas.

Scorpius' clinical handling of the situation only reaffirmed her beliefs that he harboured no romantic feelings for her. To him, she was just a good friend with whom he'd swapped spit on a few occasions.

Had the situation been reversed, she would have been unable to resist at least trailing her fingers along his shoulders or _something._

Maybe she just wasn't appealing?

"I've-" his voice came out gravelly, so he cleared his throat before trying again. "I've finished your back, are there any more?"

Rose glanced down at the one by her collarbone. It would be unbearable to have to face him and pretend to be unaffected while he healed that one. Detachment wasn't in her nature; it would be downright impossible for her be so cold.

However, the relief once she was completely free from the blasted marks would be sublime.

Maybe if she was careful not to meet his eyes and held her breath so she didn't have to smell his magnetic scent.

"Just one," she said, tugging her shirt back over her shoulders to right it and climbing to her knees before turning to face him. She tipped her head to the side and pulled the material away from her neck, revealing the last mark.

Internally, Scorpius let loose a string of curses that would have made a sailor blush. A whole new slew of inappropriate images bloomed in his overactive mind, giving him all kinds of ideas that could never happen. It was almost painful to push them aside and try to ignore them. Bloody hell, she was trying to kill him.

Rose was fighting a losing battle against a blush. She could feel it spreading across her skin, the heat pooling over her cheeks. Just knowing that she was blushing made her blush darker. It was probably spreading down her neck as he watched.

When Scorpius slowly moved his hands toward her, she made the mistake of glancing up into his eyes. There was a tug on her heart at the expression of complete concentration as he gave his wand all of his focus.

She was completely mesmerized by his mercurial orbs. Unable to turn her attention away, Rose knew he was going to have to be the one to leave first; she couldn't find the willpower to even look away.

The cooling relief of the spell was barely noticed as she watched him.

As fast as possible, he cast the spell, healing the old wound. He smiled at the relieved expression on her face.

Though he would have liked to stay, his own discomfort required attention. He could practically guarantee he was going to do something stupid if he didn't leave her presence immediately. Something stupid like pounce on her, pin her to the floor, and ravish her like his hormones were demanding he do.

"I've just remembered an assignment that's due tomorrow. I have to go," he quickly said. While Rose looked on bewildered and a touch disappointed, he rushed from the room. He desperately needed a _very _cold shower.

* * *

><p>Rose finished doing up the last of her buttons, still casting confused glances towards the door. It wasn't like Scorpius to forget about an assignment. She hoped he was all right...<p>

Her lips turned down into a frown as she remembered how uncomfortable she'd been with him so close.

The one-sided _moments _with Scorpius needed to stop. Could a person even _have _a one-sided moment? She gave it some thought, but didn't come up with a concrete answer.

Regardless of whether they could actually have a moment together when only one of them was feeling anything other than friendship, something about her starry-eyed look must have scared him off. Scorpius held nothing more than contempt for those fawning girls who frequently threw themselves at him, and she'd gone and turned into one.

He must have been horrified!

Moodily, she flung herself onto the sofa. She was delighted to find that it was still warm from Scorpius' body heat and a slight waft of his cologne clung to the fabric. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend that he was there with her.

A groan sipped from her lips when she realized how pathetic she was being. It was no wonder he'd run away.

She buried her face in the cushions and wondered if suffocating herself with the fluffy softness would be too extreme.

The next thing she knew, she was jolted awake from a horrible nightmare. Her heart was pounding furiously and her hands were shaking. It had been a horribly realistic nightmare. What exactly had transpired was a little cloudy, but clear as day she remembered a gaping wound in Scorpius' abdomen, just south of his bellybutton and a bit to the right.

The jagged sides of the ugly gash had been oozing blood that her dream self had attempted to stop, but there was no stemming the flow. She would probably never be able to get that image from her head, even if it was only a dream.

To cause that wound something terrible had happened to him, and she'd only been able to watch as it happened. If only she could remember _what _had happened. There were only vague flashes of images remaining in her mind. Something about falling wood and cold, red snow.

She shuddered, haunted by half-remembered dream images.

Anxious, she drummed her fingers on her thighs. With all the adrenalin in her system, there was no way she was going to be able to get back to sleep without making sure he was fine. Rose didn't believe there was much of a chance that she was a seer, but she didn't want to risk the very slim possibility that something could be wrong with Scorpius.

What if he was lying bleeding somewhere and he was going to _die _if someone didn't find him before he bled out? It was a slim possibility, but she didn't want to risk it.

Mind made up, Rose jumped from the sofa and rushed off towards Ravenclaw tower. It was a good thing that no students were awake at such an early hour, or they would have witnessed the Head Girl rushing through the halls as if Fluffy the three headed dog was on her heels.

At least she was still wearing clothes. They were severely wrinkled, but they were better than running through the school in her pyjamas.

She shifted from foot to foot in impatience while she listened to the riddle from the Ravenclaw door.

_What can bring back the dead; make us cry, make us laugh, make us young; born in an instant yet lasts a lifetime?_

It was sorely tempting too just blast the door to bits. How practical was something that required so much _time_? What about emergencies? Did they honestly expect her to stand there and think on the answer to a riddle if there was a fire in the corridor and the only place to escape to was the Ravenclaw dorms? Just not practical.

Frustrated, and knowing she wasn't going to be allowed entrance without the answer, she wracked her brain.

Save for a Deathly Hallow, there were few ways to bring back the dead, which meant that it probably wasn't something literal. What fit those requirements along with the rest of the specifications?

Her eyes narrowed at the stupid entranceway as she thought hard, trying to come up with an answer. Sometimes she regretted being a Ravenclaw; a password would be so much easier.

"Memories!" she exclaimed, irritated that she hadn't known instantly.

A brief, triumphant grin flashed on her face when the door opened for her. So what if it was more satisfying to have to come up with the answer than just saying a password, it still wasn't practical.

In a rush, she flew up the stairs to the seventh year boys dormitory and threw open the door. Her pace slowed when she saw that they were all asleep in their beds – _all _of them, _including _Scorpius. The racket she'd made hadn't roused a single one of them from their slumber.

Despite the evidence that he was fine, Rose knew she wasn't going to be able to leave the room without seeing for herself. Quietly, she crept over to the bed she knew to belong to her friend. His mouth was slightly open as he lay on his back, one arm flung over his head. He seemed peaceful and entirely uninjured, but still she couldn't just leave without checking.

Ever so gently, she pulled his blankets down, revealing the cotton shirt and pyjama bottoms he was wearing. At least he didn't sleep naked, that would have been a whole other level of embarrassing – and tempting.

She froze when he shifted slightly. Her position was _not _one she wanted to be in should he wake up. He'd probably think she was there to take advantage of him or something, hovering over him like she was in the middle of the night.

When he didn't move again, she unfroze and reached for him, still not reassured enough to go back to her own bed.

His breathing hitched slightly as she carefully lifted the bottom of his shirt.

"Rose?" he asked groggily.

She ignored him for a moment, sliding the shirt up and letting out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding. His skin was smooth and completely unmarred by the horrible wound she'd dreamed. Forgetting herself in her moment of relief, she just kept running her hands over that spot. It had been so _real_.

"Rose?" Scorpius asked again, sounding concerned and something else she couldn't define.

That she could wake him up in the middle of the night, basically _molest _him and he'd _still _be worried about her was what finally made her snap. She burst into tears and sunk down onto the edge of his bed, burying her face in her hands.

After a second of groping around on his nightstand for his wand, Scorpius closed his curtains and then silenced them. Rose may not care if his roommates woke up, but he wanted the privacy.

That done, he reached out and pulled her on top of him, wrapping his arms around her. He didn't know why she was crying, but he wanted her to stop. He'd seen her sad before, but she wasn't usually one to let sobs wrack her whole body as she was doing now. It disturbed him to see her so upset; something must be horribly wrong.

"What's wrong?" he asked, stroking her hair and trying to get her to calm. Anything to get those heart-wrenching sobs to stop.

"I had a horribly vivid dream and you got hurt and I had to make sure it wasn't true it looked so _real_!" she rushed out between gasping breaths. As she mentioned that injury again, she unconsciously ran her hands over his abdomen once more.

Scorpius let out a pained huff of breath. "Rose, I'm _not _injured and you need to stop touching me like that," he said seriously. Shifting slightly, he pulled her off of his lap and twisted on his side so he could still keep his arms around her.

She was limp and just let him move her around like a rag doll. As long as he didn't let her go, she didn't care how they sat.

"Don't fret, I'm perfectly fine," he soothed.

Gradually, her tears stopped, but the tight grip she had to cling to him didn't. It was such a relief that he was warm and breathing that she wasn't ready to give it up just yet. A few more minutes, then she would go back to her room.

She sniffled, pressing her face into his chest. "Promise me you won't die." Her voice was hoarse from crying and muffled by his shirt, but he heard her.

"Rose, no one can promise that. Everyone dies."

At that, her sobbing renewed and she clutched him tighter, as if Scorpius was an oversized teddy bear that could make everything better.

Unsure what to do, but refusing to lie to her, Scorpius stroked her back and waited for her to calm down. He'd never seen his friend so distraught before.

Eventually, he noticed that her sobs had faded, giving way to deep, steady breathing. He pulled away from her slightly and glanced down.

She'd fallen asleep.

Knowing it wouldn't be good if people found the Head Girl in a boy's bed, he tried to wake her. Unfortunately, no amount of shaking could get her to budge. He didn't really want her to leave anyway; it was rather nice to have her in his bed, even if it wasn't in the capacity he'd imagined.

Maybe he could just let her stay for the few hours that remained of the night. They had Quidditch practice in the morning, so they would probably be awake before anyone could catch them.

After setting his wand to wake them up in a few hours, he pulled his blankets over them both and pulled her close. No one was looking, so he took the liberty of burying his nose in her hair. He let out a happy sigh, his smile hidden amongst the tumble of fiery curls spread out across his pillow.

* * *

><p>Rose woke up to a strange buzzing, confused. It looked like she was in her old dormitory, but it smelled wrong and someone was snoring much louder than any of her roommates had ever snored. It sounded like the wood chipper her Grandpa Granger had once used to clear his yard of trees after a storm. Plus there was an unfamiliar weight over her back.<p>

Angry muttering came from startlingly close behind her, making her jump.

It all came back to her as she stared wide-eyed at the curtain around the bed that was keeping her shrouded in shadows. She'd run to Scorpius in the middle of the night, hysterical over a _dream _she'd had. Merlin, how was she going to explain _that _to people?

Scorpius must think she was insane.

Judging from the light peeking through the small gap in the curtains, it was morning, but the stillness in the dormitory told her that it was early enough that few other people should be awake. For the first – and probably the last – time ever, she was glad that Quidditch practices started so ridiculously early. Otherwise, she may have slept late enough to necessitate sneaking out of the boy's dormitory like some shameful one night stand.

The buzzing started again, making Scorpius take in a large breath before stretching against her, his muscles hardening and then relaxing. He stopped the buzzing once again and buried his face in her hair. His arm tightened around her waist, and he absently started stroking her hip with his long fingers.

As much as she wanted to stay, she knew she had to leave before people woke up, caught her, and got the wrong idea.

"Scorpius," she whispered. Past knowledge told her that her friend could be notoriously difficult to wake up in the mornings, hence the persistent alarm. He mustn't have been very deeply asleep the previous night, or else he never would have woken at just her fleeting touches.

He hummed something vague against her neck, giving her shivers. Though it was a wonderful way to wake up in the morning, Rose needed to leave.

She tried wiggling out of his grip, but he was much stronger than her and wouldn't move. Even in his sleep the blond was stubborn. He probably didn't want to lose her warmth; it seemed she was a pillow he didn't want to release.

"Scorpius, people are going to start waking up soon," she complained in a hushed voice.

Her whole body tensed when she felt him press a kiss to the back of her neck. He must have thought she was that Slytherin slag, or whoever else he shared his bed with!

Merlin that was humiliating.

She tripled her efforts to escape. If he woke up and looked at her with disappointment that she wasn't someone else, she wouldn't be able to take it.

With a little wiggling, managed to turn herself around in his arms. It seemed he only had a problem with her moving if that movement was _away _from him.

Despite her reluctance to wake him, she was going to have to if she wanted to leave his bed before someone saw her.

"Scorpius!" She slapped his face lightly. "Wake _up_!"

Sleepily, he blinked his foggy grey eyes open. "Rose," he sighed happily, leaning forward to nuzzle his face into the juncture between her shoulder and neck.

Once again, Rose fought off waves of shivers, this time less successfully. He was obviously still only partially awake, otherwise, he'd be kicking her out of his bed and scolding her for waking him up in the middle of the night.

"We have Quidditch practice," he murmured against her skin.

"Yes we do. You need to let me _go_," she said, trying to wiggle away again.

Stilly groggy, he obeyed her order. Rose climbed out of his bed, shaking her head fondly as he rolled over and buried his head under a pillow to hide from the morning light.

Briefly, she debated dragging him from the bed, but she needed some time alone. It took effort to squish her feelings down into a little box inside her mind so she'd be able to treat him as normally as possible, and feeling-squishing worked best if he wasn't there. His presence had a tendency to let them out of that tiny box.

He'd have to get to practice on his own.

She was just creeping down the stairs into the Ravenclaw common room when she caught sight of two pairs of blue eyes watching her.

Shite.

"What are you doing in the boy's dormitory so early?" Lysander asked. There was none of the accusation one would normally expect from a boyfriend catching his girlfriend coming out of another boy's room.

"I think what's more important is what she was doing in there _last night_," Lorcan said bitterly from his twin's side. The less dreamy of the pair, Lorcan was very protective of his brother.

With a surprisingly sharp glare at his brother, Lysander spoke in her defence. "Rose may love Scorpius, but she wouldn't cheat on me."

Suddenly pale, Rose looked between the two twins. "What do you mean?"

Lysander's stare was once again dreamy when he turned its full force onto Rose. "You've never really treated me like a boyfriend, and I've known all along that it wasn't me who held your heart. I do enjoy planning our outings though." He turned to grab his bag. "Lorcan and I are going to the lake to find some jellyfish. It's Uric the Oddball's birthday today, and we thought we'd celebrate by wearing them as hats." That said, he wandered out of the room.

Rose looked at the glaring Lorcan. "Did he just break up with me?"

"He knows you don't love him and doesn't want to lose you as a friend," Lorcan sighed. He ran a tired hand through his hair, sent Rose one last glare, and followed after his brother. Somehow, Rose didn't think Lorcan was looking forward to their jellyfish hats.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**A/N: I am free of the essays! I don't think I've slept properly in weeks, but I'm done. Now I just have to worry about exams. In celebration, here's another chapter! We're approaching the end of the story very rapidly...**

**Thanks to all of the wonderful people who reviewed and to thestarlitrose and irianaceleste for betaing.**

**~Frosty**

The entire team - save for Scorpius - was waiting on the pitch when Rose arrived. Scarlet and Vermilion shot her scathing looks, but Rose just turned her face away, rolling her eyes at the immaturity of the younger girls. They somehow managed to play together as an effective team, but their hatred of Rose was still alive and strong.

Trying to ignore the twin glares aimed in her direction, Rose stood off to the side, staring at the castle as she waited for Scorpius.

If she really squinted, she could see the Scamander twins sliding around on the ice over on the lake. How they expected to find jellyfish through the thick frozen layer was beyond her.

She was having difficulty wrapping her mind around the fact that Lysander had never considered her his girlfriend. All the guilt that she'd been carrying over her kisses with Scorpius had been unnecessary because her "boyfriend" had only seen her as a friend all along.

It was nice to be freed from some of her guilt, but she couldn't help wondering why he let her continue to believe they were an item when they weren't – hadn't ever been. Perhaps he wasn't as unaffected by her inability to care for him as he'd claimed. He was only human, and no one was without selfishness.

Rose knew all about selfishness; she hadn't been above letting him think there was a chance for a relationship between them when there wasn't one.

"Do you know what's keeping the captain?" Brody Thomas asked, sidling over to stand next to Rose.

She shot him a surprised look. "Why would I know where he is?"

There was a little too much startled squeak in her voice for her words to be entirely believable. Brody certainly didn't look convinced.

"I share a dormitory with him, remember? I saw you climbing out of his bed this morning."

The bottom of her stomach dropped out and she had to make a conscious effort not to flinch. There was a clear assumption behind his statement. An assumption she needed to remedy.

"It's not what you think," she started, but was distracted by a blond figure slipping out of the castle doors and jogging over to the pitch.

It took a conscious effort not to nervously wring her hands like a second year with her first crush. Rose mentally berated herself for being stupid and forced her eyes to stop avoiding her friend like she'd done something shameful with him.

"What are you lot waiting for? Get on your brooms!" Scorpius ordered the moment he was within shouting range.

Brody shot her a knowing look before grabbing his beater's bat and mounting his broom. Trying to ignore that look and everything it implied, Rose grabbed her own broom.

Immediately, Scarlet threw the Quaffle and the chasers started their drills. Rose suspected that Scarlet had been hoping to throw her off of her seat before she'd had time to properly gain her balance, but Rose had to let that anger go in order to deal with the irritating girl. She reminded herself that she needed to work with the irritating chit for Scorpius and for the team.

"Vermilion, you're favouring your left side!" Scorpius called from where he was hovering up by the stands and surveying the practice. He wasn't flying high over them all like a Seeker normally would because he needed to get a good look at how everyone else was playing. Rose knew he frequently stayed long after practice finished in order to perfect his own skills. He felt he had to do this because he spent so much of his own practice time _not _practicing. While he may have trouble getting up in the morning and being on time, Scorpius was actually a very good captain.

When Scorpius called for the end of practice a few hours later, Rose was sweaty despite the cold weather, as was the rest of the team.

Once she was no longer moving, the sweat rapidly cooled, making her shiver. If she didn't warm up quickly, she was going to catch a chill. Rose wasn't the only one who was cold; the entire team was rubbing their gloved hands together or tucking them under their arms for added warmth. Some of them were dragging their palms along their legs, trying to get some feeling back in their cold flesh.

Brody's partner, the new beater to the team, absently batted a Bludger away from him before dropping the bat and joining the rest of the team in trying to restore some warmth to their numb limbs. Rose had to question the advantages of making the whole team sick in an effort to improve their game. The school really needed to invest in an indoor stadium or something if they were going to let the Quidditch season run so late into the winter.

"Go take showers before you get sick," Scorpius ordered his team. Everyone turned around to head towards the changing rooms, but Rose walked over to Scorpius so she could help him catch the Bludgers and put them back in their box. He needed to get warm just as much as everyone else, and she was going to help him so the both of them could get to their showers faster.

_Separate _showers. Just the idea of sharing a shower with her friend distracted her for a moment. It wasn't until she realized that she'd been undressing him with her eyes that she shook off the fantasy and moved forward to help him. She was thankful that he hadn't noticed her gaze; it would only serve to inflate his ego and give him a reason to tease her mercilessly.

As Scorpius bent over the box to get place the Quaffle inside, Rose heard a strange cracking sound. Idly, she glanced towards the source of the noise, not really concerned with it.

The Bludger that had been so casually batted away only moments before had collided with a support beam on one of the spectator towers close by. As Rose watched, frozen with horror, a chunk of the stands fell, heading right towards Scorpius.

"LOOK OUT!" she screamed, but the warning came too late. It was over before she could do anything to stop the piece of wood hurtling towards Scorpius.

With a thud that would forever be branded in her memory, the wood fell right on top of her friend, knocking him to the ground.

Rushing over, Rose saw a scene that was eerily familiar. She hadn't remembered exactly what she'd seen in her dream until the strange sense of déjà vu had washed over her, but now she knew for sure; her dream had come true.

A piece of wood went right through Scorpius' back and came out the front, exactly where she had seen in her dream.

Hands shaking so badly she had trouble moving them where she wanted, she touched his wrist. There was a pulse, but judging from the looks of him, he'd be lucky if it stayed there for long.

"Someone go and get Madam Pomfrey!" she ordered the team. Her voice was high and panicked; she barely recognised it as her own. If her heart hadn't been beating so loudly she could barely hear anything over the rushing of blood, she may have been disturbed by how distraught she sounded. Never in her life had she had reason to be teetering on the edge of hysteria as she was.

The team had heard the commotion and rushed over, but once there they had gathered in a circle and stood around gaping like cattle, unsure what it was that they should do.

Scarlet and Vermilion were both pale and crying, clinging to each other. The beater who had hit the Bludger looked completely stricken.

Really helpful, the lot of them.

Luckily, two of them had enough presence of mind to grab their brooms and race off towards the castle. Maybe not _all _of them were useless.

Rose ignored the team and levitated the bulk of the wood off of the blond. Vaguely, she remembered something about not removing big objects that pierce the skin for fear that the victim would bleed out before medical attention could arrive, but she couldn't exactly put it _back_.

By the time Madam Pomfrey got to the field, Rose had perched herself beside her friend, holding his hand tightly in hers. She had cast a warming charm over him, afraid he'd succumb to shock before the Mediwitch could even arrive. So focused on him was she, that she'd forgotten to extend that warming charm to cover herself as well and was shivering almost violently when the Mediwitch stopped beside her.

"Move away Miss Weasley, I need to take a look at him," the old woman said, not unkindly.

Feeling numb, Rose stepped away and allowed the Healer to do her work. She watched as Scorpius was carried away in a stretcher, the Mediwitch bustling along beside him.

If what she was feeling was anything like what Scorpius had experienced when she had been hit with a Bludger, then she didn't blame him for coming into the Hospital Wing and yelling at her. She felt a little like yelling at someone herself. Bludgers were a bloody menace and should be replaced by something fluffy... or soft. Why couldn't they bat around some Pygmy Puffs instead?

"Weasley, aren't you going to the Hospital Wing?" Vermilion asked through her tears. Her twin was nodding her agreement.

Rose stared at her vacantly for a moment which the girl seemed to take to mean that she needed to elaborate.

"I may hate you for it, but I know that Scorpius will want you there when he wakes up," She gave Rose a push in the direction of the school.

That was all she needed to snap her out of her shock. Rose ran towards the school, not stopping until she was in the Hospital wing. A few people gave her strange looks as she passed them, but the majority of the school had seen the stretcher only moments before and understood her hurry.

The Mediwitch hadn't noticed Rose enter; she was too focused on fixing Scorpius. His shirt had been removed to show the gaping wound Rose had dreamt.

Rose watched as Madam Pomfrey poured a steaming purple liquid over the hole and the edges gradually started to knit themselves back together. The redhead breathed a slight sigh of relief; at least the gaping hole was starting to close.

A few spells to prevent infection were the final touches before Madam Pomfrey placed a piece of gauze over the wound. It was only then that the Mediwitch turned around to notice Rose staring at the scene, still white as a sheet and shivering. Her grey eyebrows drew together. "Miss Weasley, you need to warm up," she said, bustling over to the redhead and summoning a blanket to place around the girl's shoulders.

Rose perched on the edge of the bed beside Scorpius' and shivered despite the blanket until Madam Pomfrey noticed and cast a warming charm over her.

"Is he going to be okay?" Rose asked in a small voice, terrified for her friend. She almost hadn't asked the question for fear of the answer, but she _had _to know.

"He's going to be fine, dear. Miraculously, that piece of wood missed hitting anything that we can't fully heal with magic. I'll be able to release him in a few days, good as new." Comfortingly, she patted Rose's shoulder and handed her a Pepper Up potion.

After the steam had cleared from her ears, Rose scooted her bed closer to Scorpius' and held his hand. Normally, Scorpius had very warm hands, but now they were cold. She clutched his fingers tighter and rubbed them slightly, hoping to restore some of the familiar warmth to those seemingly lifeless digits.

She stayed like that until late into the night. Albus found her that way when he finally heard what had happened and came looking for his friends.

"How is he?" Albus asked, sitting beside his cousin and putting his arm around her shoulders. Despite the blanket she was wearing and numerous warning charms from the Mediwitch, Rose was still shivering. It wasn't really a physical lack of heat that was her problem but more of a chilling of her very soul.

"He's going to be fine, but he won't wake up," Rose said, not taking her eyes from the still face of the blond boy in the bed. Until his silver eyes actually blinked open and he informed her himself that he was fine, a part of her wasn't going to believe the reassurances of the Mediwitch.

"Rose, go take a shower," her cousin said, catching a whiff of her. "If Scorpius wakes up with you smelling like that, he'll probably pass out again."

"I can't, I have to be here in case he wakes up."

Albus stood up and put himself between Rose and Scorpius, putting a calming hand on his cousin's shoulder. "You sat with him all day. He wouldn't want you looking like a zombie when he wakes up. Go take a shower, get some rest. I'll sit with him tonight."

It took some more convincing, but Rose eventually shuffled from the room.

Now that Albus had mentioned it, she noticed that she did smell rather unpleasant. She'd been quite sweaty after her Quidditch practice and then she'd sat in the hospital wing all day in those sweaty clothes. It really wasn't surprising that she was a little ripe.

Stiffly, she trudged out of the Hospital Win in search of a shower.

The hot water helped relieve tension she hadn't even been aware that she was carrying. Rose couldn't help wondering if Scorpius had been injured _because _of her dream. If she hadn't kept him up until such a ridiculous hour, then he wouldn't have been late for practice and he wouldn't have felt like he had to stay behind to put away the more dangerous balls, probably in anticipation of his own practice with the Snitch. Would the accident have still happened without her interference, or had she caused the whole thing by seeing it in the first place?

What she needed to do was get back to the Quidditch pitch and take a good look at the evidence of what had happened out there. Unsurprisingly, she hadn't been paying much attention to the surroundings while Scorpius had been bleeding. She probably wouldn't be able to tell anything from whatever had been left behind after that horrible accident, but she needed to do _something_. Sleep was out of the question and she was going insane waiting for Scorpius to wake up.

Decision made, Rose stepped from the shower, cast a drying spell on her hair, and slipped into a pair of comfy clothes. She passed a few people in the corridors and tried to avoid their eyes as they gave her sympathetic looks. Their looks only reminded her that Scorpius was lying still in the Hospital Wing, and she was trying not to think too hard about that.

Outside, it had warmed up a bit since their early morning practice, but it was still _cold _out there. Rose squinted against the sunlight reflecting off all the snow and made her way across the grounds. Every footstep crunched as she walked in the crisp snow.

Since she had been small, Rose had never really liked snow. Maybe she'd somehow known even then that she would spend entirely too much time sitting in it and holding Scorpius while he suffered, rapidly losing blood.

As she approached the pitch, she tried to avoid looking at the disturbed snow and the red patch that surrounded it. Instead, she focused on the chunk that had been taken out of the stands. There really should have been some sort of spells in place to hold them up, what with the violence and danger that usually surrounded Quidditch.

Merlin, did she ever hate Quidditch.

Nothing good ever came from the sport. Even with the magical healing options available, there were still occasionally deaths. It was a _sport_; people weren't supposed to die during a sport. She really doubted the death toll of badminton was anywhere _near _the number of lives Quidditch had claimed.

When every child was walking around with a stick of wood that could kill after only a few words, she really didn't think magical folk needed the added thrill of near-death experiences in sporting events. But then again, she'd always been her mum's daughter. Dad always said that his wife thought with "Muggle logic," and that couldn't possibly apply to the magical world.

Rose forced herself to look at the spot where Scorpius' blood stained the snow in a crimson slash against all the pure white. If he hadn't been leaning over in that _exact _spot, if he'd been just a few metres to the left, he would have been fine. _She _had been fine and she'd only been a scant distance behind him.

She sunk down and sat in the snow, once again avoiding the red smear. After only moments, her butt started to lose feeling from the cold and the melting snow was soaking into her robes. She ignored her discomfort; sitting comfortably in her room hardly seemed fair when Scorpius was broken in a hospital bed.

Crunching footsteps approached from behind her, but she didn't turn to look, assuming it was Albus or one of her other cousins come to scold her for staying out in the cold. It was nice they cared and all, but sometimes she just wanted some alone time, and that was something hard to get with a family her size.

"I thought I'd find you here."

That was _not _Albus! She stood up and whipped around, heart all aflutter in that irritating rhythm it seemed to acquire only when he was around.

Scorpius was leaning against one of the wooden supports for the spectator stands. He looked a little pale and seemed to be leaning too heavily on the wood, but otherwise he appeared to be fine. He even had that annoying look on his face that she hated; the one that said she was being an idiot and should know better. It was almost like he hadn't nearly died in this very spot only hours ago.

Rose ran over, but stopped just as she was about to throw her arms around him. She wasn't sure how healed he was and didn't want to injure him further with her careless actions.

"Shouldn't you be in the Hospital Wing?" she asked instead, jerking to an awkward stop in front of him.

Scorpius, knowing what she wanted to do and why she'd stopped herself, reached out and hugged her, pulling her tight against his chest. He'd been forced to release his grip on the support pole that had been holding most of his weight, but he needed to hold her. Though she was small, she was stronger than she looked, so he knew she'd be able to support some of his weight.

Stiffly, still in pain, Scorpius bent down to whisper in her ear. "Can you keep a secret?"

Rose was surprised by the teasing note in his voice. He'd nearly _died _and she was fighting off tears for what felt like the hundredth time that day, but he was _teasing _her.

"Scorpius..." she said, pulling back to look up into his eyes. There was no teasing in his at all in the mercurial depths, a very intense emotion was shining out at her. She couldn't place it.

"I snuck out and then came to find you," he answered her earlier question without breaking eye contact.

"How'd you know I'd be here?"

The blond smirked at her. "Your insatiable curiosity and Gryffindor habit of assuming everything's your fault. Bit arrogant really. I'm assuming you must have picked it up from your parents, because it's certainly not a Ravenclaw flaw."

She buried her face against his chest, careful not to jostle the place where he'd been injured. "What if it _is _my fault?" Her voice was barely a whisper against the fabric.

Frowning, Scorpius put a hand on each of her shoulders and looked down right into her eyes. "Just because you had a vision in your dream doesn't mean _any _of this is your fault. If anything, you tried to warn me."

Completely shocked, she stumbled a few steps away from him, her eyes wide. He'd known?


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**A/N: For those of you who reviewed with a question (I always answer the reviews with questions), I'm sorry if I haven't answered them yet. I have read them, and they made me so happy, but I couldn't find time to answer them. Anyway, soon!**

**Thanks to thestarlitrose and irianaceleste for betaing and to everyone who reviewed!**

**Aaaaaaand! *drum roll* (one of you guys is going to have to supply the drum roll. While I was a band kid in high school, my rhythm kind of sucks, and I certainly wasn't on drums.) The final chapter! Only the epilogue left to go... **

**~Frosty**

Accurately reading her silence and shocked expression, Scorpius elaborated, "Rose... You predicted this – you can't claim you didn't."

He let out a quiet grunt of irritation when her chin jutted out stubbornly. If she thought she was going to be able to convince him otherwise she was both stubborn and delusional. Scorpius wasn't much of a believer in Divination either, but he wasn't so blind that he couldn't recognise how disturbingly accurate her dream must have been.

"The other night when you burst into my dormitory, you kept pressing your hands to my abdomen." Lifting the corner of his shirt to reveal the white gauze resting underneath, he pointed to the padding. "This is the exact spot where you kept putting your hands; don't think I didn't put two and two together when I woke up in the hospital wing."

He knew because when she'd been continuously pressing her hot little hands against him it had felt like they had branded a permanent mark into his skin that he could feel even now. It had been torture to have her hovering over him and smoothing her fingers across his skin while _in his bed _and not be able to touch her like he wanted. She had been distressed; it would have been wrong.

Plus she had a bloody boyfriend.

Even if she'd somehow changed her view of him and _wanted _him to touch her the way he longed to, she would have felt horrible about it afterward because she had Lysander, someone who trusted her to stay faithful.

Rose blushed at the memory of her behaviour from the previous night. He'd probably thought she was some kind of nutter, bursting into his room at a ridiculous hour and molesting him before bursting into tears and crying all over him. Scorpius was a true gentleman for not complaining even once about the tears she'd probably gotten all over him.

"I told you before; I had a dream that you were hurt, it wasn't a vision," she mumbled. It was hard to lie when she no longer believed the lies herself. At this point, it was a kneejerk reaction to deny that she had seen the future. Besides, if her dream had been accurate, that would mean her other glimpse into the future was probably true as well, and that was impossible.

All of her logical thinking and carefully constructed walls were having trouble stifling that little spark of hope that was growing in her chest. It didn't help that there was something eerily familiar about the position they were in, something that was poking around in the back of her mind, trying to make itself known.

"It wasn't just a dream." His voice was completely firm, showing his conviction. Scorpius knew he was right and he didn't understand why Rose kept denying it. "It happened exactly the way you saw, didn't it?"

She looked away, not wanting to answer. Her eyes caught sight of that red stain in the snow and darted back to her friend. There was really no point in lying to him.

Just as she was about to answer in the affirmative, Scorpius tired of her silence and spoke again.

"Don't try and deny it. Everything you've ever predicted while reading my blasted tea leaves has been right. You're a seer and yet you're too blinded by your disbelief to _see _that you are."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to remember everything she'd read in his tea leaves. So much of it had just been whatever complete nonsense she'd been able to piece together with the assistance of their ridiculous textbook.

Abruptly, her confusion slipped into a grin. "I _knew _you were a hopeless narcissist with some sort of obsession with yourself!"

Scorpius was _not _in the mood for jokes. He was having trouble believing that she didn't know exactly what he was talking about. She was going to force him to actually say the words as some sort of revenge for worrying her with his injury, he just knew it. It didn't seem like something she would do, but his mind wasn't exactly in a logical place in his emotion-driven state.

When she continued to just smile at him, her eyes dancing with amusement and anticipation of his answer, something in him snapped. He grabbed her shoulders, shaking her a little. "It's _you_!" he yelled. "That first reading that you did before the narcissism accusation, the one that said I'm harbouring feelings for someone close to me. It's true and it's you."

Staring up at him with large, startled eyes, she opened her mouth to speak.

Scorpius ignored what was sure to be a protest of some sort and continued right over her. "'You've been poisoned and it's eating you up on the inside. The only cure for this poison is sharing it so it can become something good.' Do you remember saying that?"

Her brows furrowed again as she tried to grasp what he'd said. She _vaguely _recalled saying something along those lines, but how was it relevant? Hell, she hadn't even heeded her words when she's been saying them; they were just a bunch of nonsense. Yet Scorpius seemed to have been taking those words to heart all along.

Maybe there was more to them than she'd initially thought?

When she realized that Scorpius was waiting for her answer, she weakly nodded. Yes, she remembered saying those things in that clouded way one remembers words they had disregarded as joking nonsense even as they were leaving the lips.

"You were right. I _am _being poisoned from the inside. I've loved you for years and it's _killing _me that you only see me as a _friend_." Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair.

She blinked her large blue eyes. Okay, _that _hadn't been what she'd been expecting to hear. She was sure that he'd never looked at her so _intensely_, yet the expression itself was familiar. Rose looked around the snowy Quidditch pitch, feeling a strange sense of déjà-vu. The entire scene was strangely familiar to her.

"Bloody hell, I'm a seer," she whispered, the dawning realization in her voice.

Scorpius felt a pang of hurt that she was ignoring his heartfelt – if a little frustrated - confession, but he understood that she had a lot to sort out in her mind. He gave her a sharp nod of acknowledgement, willing to allow her a moment to gather her thoughts before he let the hurt sink in. Once she had her feet under her once again, they'd deal with his confession.

"I've seen this before," she continued, voice still barely a thread of sound. Her eyes took in everything around her, catching on the place she remembered standing and watching the very scene in which she'd now become a participant.

A small smile edged its way onto her lips. The fact that he'd admitted to having feelings for her hadn't escaped her notice, it had just been briefly sidelined while she got over the shock of the recent revelation that she was in fact a seer. The jury was still out on whether she was insane; it could go either way with her.

He tried to hide it, but now that she was calm again, Rose could see the hurt in Scorpius' eyes. She hadn't meant to hurt him; he didn't deserve that right after laying himself bare as he had - particularly when she was actually thrilled by the revelation.

Recognising where in the vision they were, her tiny smile widened slightly.

"I know what happens next; this is the part where you kiss me," she said, her lips tilted into a small but joyous smile.

He only had time to widen his eyes in surprise before she was flinging her arms around his neck and pressing her lips against his.

Like the other times she'd kissed him, Rose was immediately lost in a whole other world that centered solely on his touch. Even through all their layers of clothing they were both wearing, he still managed to set her never endings on fire. Her blood was suddenly alight with sparks of pleasure and happiness.

She was insane for not discovering her love of kissing him sooner. They could have been together _years _ago if only they both hadn't been so blind.

Ignoring his injury, Scorpius pulled her against him, not allowing even a single millimetre of space between them. He could never have her too close, and if she was willing to allow the contact then he was going to take full advantage of that.

For a brief, wonderful time, his world was comprised entirely of Rose. Her scent, her touch, her lips were everything. The same was true for Rose.

It was Scorpius who regained his senses first. He pulled away from her and put some space between them so he could see her face once more. Her cheeks were flushed and her blue eyes were darkened and sparkling. Never had she been more desirable than in that moment.

"We can't do this," he said sadly, tenderly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

She pressed her cheek against his fingertips as he let them linger there. "Why not?"

His struggle to break the contact was clouding his eyes, but he couldn't seem to completely sever the connection between them. She was glad.

"You have Lysander and–"

"He dumped me this morning," Rose interrupted, smiling a little. Lysander really was so full of kindness. She hadn't deserved him, but she knew he was going to make some sweet girl very happy one day. That girl just couldn't be her; some other bloke had already stolen her heart.

Scorpius blinked. "Well, there's still the problem-" he broke off with a large sneeze that left him clutching his stomach as pain ripped through it.

"We can finish this conversation inside. You need rest," Rose said, grabbing his hand and tugging him back towards the castle. She was just now noticing how _cold _his fingertips were and how thin his shirt was. Merlin, she hadn't even noticed he was without a coat. He must be _freezing_.

She had to slow her pace when she noticed that Scorpius was lagging behind. With his long legs, he was usually the one leading the way with her trotting to catch him.

In the process of throwing a teasing comment about _him _being the slow one for once, Rose caught sight of his hand pressed tightly across his wound and the sudden pallor of his face. She swore as she caught a glimpse of red on his shirt underneath when he shifted slightly.

"You need to go back to the Hospital Wing," she said sternly. He never should have left in the first place, but she had a feeling he'd known that when he snuck out. It was touching that he'd disregarded his health and come to find her, but it was also stupid.

"No. Not the Hospital Wing. Take me back to the Head Dorms and let me sleep on the sofa or something, but don't take me back to that Medical Nazi." He turned his gaze on her in full force, pleading with his expressive, silvery eyes.

Rose sighed; she was such a softy when it came to him. Unfortunately, he knew this and exploited it mercilessly.

"Fine," she grumbled. It would serve him right if he was permanently scarred for refusing proper medical attention.

They got some strange looks walking through the halls with Rose dripping snow and Scorpius obviously injured, but the pair ignored the gaping idiots. Being the children of such well-known parents made them used to ignoring people who were watching them. Sparing attention to everyone who followed them and judged with their eyes would have driven them insane back in first year. Everyone had an opinion or lingering grudge from the war, and many people weren't above passing those grudges onto their children. It would take the world a while to recover from the horrors of the war.

When they entered the Head's common room, Albus wasn't there, which was actually a relief to Rose. She didn't feel like facing her cousin while spending time with Scorpius. Albus would probably be shooting knowing looks at Rose's hand, entwined so firmly with Scorpius'. It felt nice and she didn't have any intentions of letting go unless he wanted to – which he didn't seem inclined to do.

Scorpius made for the sofa, but Rose stopped him. "You need sleep, and you'll be more comfortable in a bed," she said, not able to quite meet his eyes as she led him into her room. Her cheeks were warm, but she tried not to think about it, else she'd only blush darker. It was part of the annoying curse of being a redhead.

There was a slight awkward pause as they stood inside the room. Neither of them was quite sure where the boundaries lay anymore; the lines between them had drastically shifted.

Rose broke the awkwardness with all the grace of a wrecking ball.

"Take off your shirt," she ordered.

He raised an eyebrow, looking amused. "You don't waste time."

"Just do it," she snapped, not in the mood to joke while he was standing there bleeding. Her curtness was partially to do with her discomfort and partially irritation over his refusal to obey the Healer's orders.

Still looking amused, he pulled his shirt over his head, trying to hide a wince of pain as he lifted his arms.

Rose wasn't fooled.

She stared at where his injury was bleeding through the gauze. What kind of idiot would just leave the hospital so soon after receiving such a life-threatening injury? She did her best to make her gaze reflect those sentiments. It didn't seem to be effective, because he just kept _smirking_ at her.

"Lay down," she said.

When he obeyed, Rose carefully removed the pad of gauze. There was a large, purple scar where the wood had pierced him. It would take a few days for the scar to fade back into his normal smooth skin. Luckily, the blood was only coming from a tiny spot right in the middle of his injury, where it had had the least time to heal. She knew a spell that would help with the pain and stop the bleeding, but it would hurt like hell first.

"Tell me what problem we still have." She was trying to distract him, and he could probably see right through her. Continuing their earlier conversation seemed like the best option.

Regardless of knowing her motivations, he answered. "You still look at me like a friend, nothing more.

Rose huffed in irritation. Did friends really kiss like she'd kissed him? If they did, she'd been doing the friendship thing wrong for years.

"Remember when I showed up at your house without a wand?" she asked.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small bottle that his father had handed to him. "You used a Heart's Desire potion? I assumed your heart's desire was to be friends again."

Rose cast the healing spell.

His back arched and tendons bulged from the pain, but he didn't utter a sound.

Hating causing him pain but not knowing another way if he insisted that he didn't want to go to the Hospital Wing, Rose tried not to look into his eyes. She didn't want to see any accusation there. Instead, she focused on the little tear in the centre of his scar. In a matter of seconds, it healed, leaving him with a smooth expanse of skin. The scar was still present, but it wasn't bleeding anymore.

When he relaxed again, Rose climbed into the bed, leaning over him. Her long hair flowed over her shoulder and brushed against his neck. She had a knee on either side of his hips so she could see his face. His eyes were tightly shut, looking like he was still hurting, even though he shouldn't be suffering from any residual pain. The spell she'd used involved an initial burst of pain and then a numbing sensation.

"I'm sorry, so sorry," she repeatedly whispered under her breath as she lay one hand over the scar and used her other to stroke his cheek.

When he still didn't open his eyes, she grew concerned. "Scorpius?"

"Just finish your explanation," he gritted out. She could feel that his teeth were clenched from where her fingertips were repeatedly running over his jaw.

Rose tilted her head to the side; maybe the numbing took a moment to come into effect?

"I had this vision of us together – well, of us on the Quidditch pitch a few minutes ago. It made me look at you differently. When I saw the vision, I realized something; I _wanted _you to look at me like that, to touch me like that. I thought of you as more than a friend even then. It took me a bit to sort out that I love you; I think I have for longer than even I realized."

Suddenly she was looking into the grey depths she knew so well. "You mean it?"

Her nod was only half finished when he grabbed her. Unprepared, Rose fell against him with an undignified 'oof'.

She immediately tried to struggle off of him, worried that she'd injured him further, but he wouldn't let her budge. His arms were tight bands of muscle and bone, holding her exactly where she wanted to be; against him. Still, he was being careless and stupid with his injury after so recently suffering for his last bout of idiocy.

When she looked up to scold him for being reckless again, he stopped her with a kiss. This time it was slow and gentle, filled with promises for the future.

It was lucky that she was lying down and he was holding her so tightly; had she been standing, her knees would have been liquefied. It would have been embarrassing to melt into a goopy puddle from one kiss. Even worse, Scorpius would have taken the action as a compliment, a boost to his already large ego.

"We're both idiots," he said. "We could have been together so long ago if we hadn't insisted on ignoring what was right under our noses." He kissed the tip of her nose to accentuate his point. "I can't believe Father showed me that Heart's Desire potion and I _still _didn't get it."

"He said he wouldn't tell you," Rose said. There were no feelings of resentment towards Mr. Malfoy, but he'd given his word and then broken it.

Tracing her fingers over the hard planes of his chest and continuing down until she was playing with the top of his pants, she marvelled at how she could _touch _him now. No more pointless longing while having to keep her hands to herself. Really, there were no hard feelings towards Mr. Malfoy; he'd only tried to get them to this point sooner.

Scorpius shrugged, shivering slightly at her attentions. "He was a Slytherin, he tells the truth when it suits his goals and lies his arse off the rest of the time. Getting us together was apparently one of his goals."

Trying to shift her weight off of the place he'd been injured, Rose accidentally brushed against the hardness between his legs. Scorpius breathed out a quick breath of air and rolled his hips involuntarily.

Wide-eyed, she looked up into his darkened silver orbs. "Sorry," she whispered, worried she'd hurt him.

Scorpius barked a laugh before kissing her again, telling her how sorry she _didn't _have to be.

When she felt his hands creeping up the back of her shirt and toying with the clasp to her bra, Rose turned her head to the side, breaking her lips away so she could speak. "Scorpius, as much as I'd like to do this, you're hurt."

"I'm _fine," _he insisted, but Rose knew he was lying. Once the numbing effect of her spell wore off, he would be in pain. Almost as much pain as he'd been in prior to the healing spell she'd cast.

"You're _not_. This isn't happening tonight. I'll get off of you if you want," she offered, not wanting to move but knowing it would probably be easier for him if she gave him some space to calm down.

His arms tightened. "No, don't leave."

Rose stayed, unable to go against both what she wanted _and _what he wanted. She justified the selfish action by telling herself that he was still too cold from his time outside; he could use the extra heat. Grabbing her wand, she dried her butt, which was still wet from the snow, and covered them both with her blankets.

She must have drifted off, because next thing she knew, it was dark outside the window and there was a loud thumping on her door. Why could no one just leave her alone and let her _sleep_?

"Rose, Scorpius is missing! Do you have any idea where he could be? He just disappeared from the Hospital Wing," Albus called through the door. He didn't wait for an answer, bursting into the room uninvited.

"What aren't you out there searching for him?" her cousin demanded. He was fumbling for his wand, unable to see anything in the dark room.

"Quiet!" Rose hissed. She was still on top of Scorpius and didn't want to talk too loud. The blond was asleep and desperately needed his rest after the day he'd had.

Never was she going to forget a locking charm again. This time she was going to remember the promise to herself.

Albus finally managed to light his wand. When he saw Rose's reason for her order of quiet, he started laughing, still not bothering to keep his voice down. "Took you long enough! Lily and I were beginning to worry we were going to have to dose the two of you with a strong lust potion."

Backing out of the room at Rose's death glare, Albus tried to muffle his laughter. "I'll go tell the rest of the castle he's... uh, _well taken care of_."

With a sigh, she thumped her head down onto Scorpius' shoulder. "I'm going to _strangle _him," she muttered under her breath.

"Don't be too hard on him, love. He's had to deal with us dancing around each other for years," Scorpius mumbled, burying his nose in her hair. He didn't sound like he was fully awake.

Woken by the noise and the brush of her words across his skin, he hugged her close, happy his memories of the previous night weren't a dream.

"Did we wake you up?" she asked. Scorpius needed time to sleep if he was going to heal properly.

"There's no better way to wake up than in bed with you."

Rose smiled as he placed a kiss in the dip under her ear. She rather liked waking up with him as well. But if he thought a few hours of sleep had healed him enough for any strenuous activity, he was in for some disappointment.


	13. Chapter 13

**Epilogue**

**A/N: It finally snowed! I was so excited that I went outside to build a snowman, but it wasn't nice packing snow, so all I ended up with was a piled of snow with a giant carrot stuck in it. Most people seem to be taking it as a dirty joke...**

**Anyway, thanks to all the wonderful people who have reviewed! You guys really made this story fun to write. Also thanks to thestarlitrose and Irianaceleste for all their hard work betaing!**

**~Frosty**

Albus' face split into a Cheshire grin as his two best mates walked into the courtyard hand in hand. He congratulated himself once again for a job well done. Not only had he managed to get them together with minimal help from Lily, but they were happily together. No more of those long, frosty silences stretching between the two while he tried to reconcile them. Unfortunately, they had a different way of making him uncomfortable now...

His grin turned into a wince when Scorpius suddenly swerved into a dark, shady area behind a tree, tugging Rose behind him. In a matter of moments, they were tangled together in a passionate embrace with no thought towards the people who may be able to see them. It would be almost sweet if it wasn't so disgusting.

Subtly, Albus sent a jelly-legs jinx towards his cousin, hoping she'd collapse and the disturbing scene he was watching would end. Instead of the desired effect, Rose merely clung closer to her blond lover, who responded by lifting her up and turning to press her against the tree. Their clothes were the only thing keeping them from being completely indecent.

Well that just wouldn't do. Albus wanted them happy, but he didn't want to see their displays of affection everywhere he went. He thought about intervening further, but Lily sidled up to him, wearing the very same Cheshire grin he'd been sporting only moments before. He didn't understand why Lily wasn't as disturbed by the snogging couple as he was.

"If you try to stop them again, he may end up ripping her clothes off right there against the tree," she said, obviously trying to fight off laughter. Apparently she'd seen his failed attempt to make the snogging end.

At his scowl, Lily's laughter echoed around the courtyard, making the snogging couple stop their activities and glance around for the source of the sound.

When Rose saw her audience, she squeaked as her cheeks flooded with redness. Slapping Scorpius on the chest, she wiggled until he let her down. The redhead pushed past the blond and stomped out from the little shelter from prying eyes the tree had provided.

Lily skipped away, still laughing at her older cousins. While she would love to watch the scene unfold further, she had much more important things vying for her attention.

"As Head Boy, I have to deduct points for inappropriate display of hormones," Albus said as his friends approached him, Rose stomping ahead of Scorpius. She was obviously displeased with the blond for literally dragging her into her current embarrassed state.

Rose nodded, still refusing to look at Scorpius. "As Head Girl, I completely agree with that punishment. However, as your cousin, it is well within my rights to exact my revenge."

With that said, she turned sharply, her hair swirling out and brushing against Scorpius' chest before she flounced away.

Wearing a thoroughly besotted expression, Scorpius watched her retreat. "I'm going to marry her one day," he said, more to himself than his companion.

Albus rolled his eyes. "You said the same thing when we were twelve."

"But I'm so much closer now."

* * *

><p>Rose grinned as she touched down on the Quidditch pitch. They'd just had a very successful practice. The entire team was happier when Scorpius wasn't uptight and yelling because he was miserable. She liked to think his mood had lightened considerably since they had started dating.<p>

Scorpius wasn't the only one in an unusually good mood; Rose was in high spirits as well. Not even the obnoxious Goldstein twins could bring her down, which was really something considering they'd become even more unpleasant since Rose's relationship with Scorpius had become common knowledge.

Landing beside her, Scorpius wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her on top of her slightly sweaty hair.

She couldn't let on that his casual little gestures of affection - like the kiss he'd just given - melted her on the inside. Otherwise, he'd exploit them shamelessly to get his way. He may not be Slytherin, but he had some decidedly Slytherin characteristics.

"Good practice everyone. Gryffindor isn't going to know what hit them when we crush them this Friday," he said, smiling when the whole team cheered enthusiastically despite their exhaustion.

The team started to filter towards the locker rooms for showers, leaving Rose and Scorpius alone in the middle of the field.

"I have a surprise for you," the blond said.

Rose smiled up at him. "What is this mysterious surprise?"

He shook his head. "Go have a shower and then meet me back here."

Excited, Rose rushed off to the showers. It was unusual for Scorpius to surprise her with something. She spent her entire shower trying to figure out what it was that Scorpius could have for her as a surprise. Since he'd really never done anything of the sort before, she had no idea what to expect.

The blond was waiting for her in the middle of the pitch when she came back out of the showers.

"What's this surprise you had for me?" she asked, smiling.

He shook his head, his lips tilting up into a secret smile. Wrapping his large hand around her smaller one, he pulled her towards the castle.

The students of Hogwarts had long since gotten used to seeing Rose and Scorpius hand in hand in the halls, so they didn't warrant a second glance as the blond dragged her through the stone corridors.

When they arrived at the spiralling staircase that led to the Divination room, Rose shot a suspicious look at Scorpius. There was really only one place they could be heading if they were taking that particular hallway. Rose didn't care for the Divination room when they were forced to go, she didn't see why Scorpius thought she'd want to go there when she didn't even have to be. It was an unpleasant place with too much incense, and there was always a chance that Trelawney would be lurking there, waiting to tell Rose that she didn't have a future in Divination.

"Don't make that face, you haven't even seen what your surprise is yet," Scorpius said, catching a glimpse of her expression.

Her answer was delayed as they arrived at the ladder that led up to the small tower room in which their Divination classes took place.

Scorpius climbed the ladder first, knowing better than to make Rose go first when she was wearing a skirt. The one time he'd tried to allow her to go before him – out of politeness, with almost no thoughts of looking up her skirt – she'd whacked him and made such a fuss that he'd never tried something similar again, or at least not in a situation that allowed her to catch him.

With a slight sense of dread, Rose climbed the ladder after Scorpius. Few good things ever came from the Divination room, something she had long ago learned.

Without the oppressive incense filling the room and the shades drawn over the window to keep out most of the light, the tower was actually a pleasant place. Sunlight was streaming through the windows, catching on the crystal balls and making strange, sparkling shapes on the stone walls. The light revealed that some of the cushions were more worn than they'd appeared in low light, but the threadbare velvets lent the room character instead of making the place look worn and tired. Altogether, the setting presented a surprisingly inviting atmosphere.

When her head finally poked through the hole in the floor, Rose saw that Scorpius was already sitting on a cushion at one of the small tables, a teapot in front of him along with a pair of delicate porcelain teacups. Rose raised an eyebrow in an expression she'd learned from him.

"My surprise is tea?" she asked dryly, taking a seat on a cushion on the other side of the table from the blond.

He shrugged. "You like tea, we're having tea. Look, I even made the vile raspberry stuff because it's your favourite."

Rose narrowed her eyes as she studied him. He was hiding something; he hated raspberry tea, so the only way he'd willing drink it was if there were ulterior motives involved. Her eyes widened and a sigh escaped her as she realized what it was he'd planned. "We're here because you want to know how we're going to do in the upcoming Quidditch game, aren't we?"

Scorpius choked on the tea he'd been sipping. Apparently she'd hit the nail right on the head. The boy would have made a terrible Slytherin if he was going to react so violently every time someone figured out his plans. The hat had chosen well when it put him in Ravenclaw.

Folding her hands on the table, Rose waited smugly for him to explain himself, amusement glittering in her eyes. He was so adorable when he was flustered and grasping for answers.

"I was just thinking we should harness this talent of yours for Quidditch," he said when he'd recovered his breathing. He didn't see Rose roll her eyes. "You can tell us what we need to work on and if our team is going to win the Quidditch cup."

Grimacing at the taste, Scorpius finished his entire cup in one gulp. He pushed it over to Rose while she sipped at her own tea. His eyes were so expectant and excited that she couldn't find it in her heart to crush him by flat out refusing to even try.

With a sigh, Rose finished off her own tea before looking at the dregs of his. How could Scorpius be so confident in her abilities when she felt like she was looking at lumps of wet leaves? It didn't make sense.

The future was supposed to be something left entirely up to individuals, not something predetermined and set in stone without any room for free will. Despite her strange ability to know the future, Rose liked to believe that she and Scorpius would have ended up together without the intervention of a vision. They had something special and she refused to accept that she would have let it pass unnoticed if she hadn't seen for herself what they could be. It may have taken her a little longer, but she would have eventually noticed Scorpius was something more than a friend to her.

Unsurprisingly, Scorpius just happened to have a textbook on hand that he brought out from under the table and slid over to her. He'd put quite a bit of thought into their little outing.

Rose shook her head and sent him a glare without any real heat in it. She didn't like that he'd pretended this was a surprise for her when really he'd just wanted her to do him a favour. However, she couldn't really be mad at him; there had been no malice in his actions, just a little misguided enthusiasm. He was a little Quidditch brained at the moment.

After consulting the textbook a few times she had a passable answer accumulated. They were going to win the Quidditch cup, but she wasn't going to tell Scorpius that. If he got too confident in winning, then he wouldn't coach them as hard and they would probably lose. She had a feeling she was going to regret that decision in the future, he could turn into a bear when the pressure started to get to him. The entire team would just have to deal with it.

"Are you done yet?" he demanded after a while.

Rose lifted the book close to her face to hide the smile on her lips.

"You," she started, grinning at his rapt attention and eager posture. "Have an amazing girlfriend who isn't going to predict the outcome of events for you like some kind of magic eight ball."

His face fell. "Come on, Rose. No little tidbits of the future?"

She was about to tell him 'no' when the present faded out, giving her an image of herself in a white dress, walking down the aisle beside her dad. At the end of that aisle was Scorpius, looking just as happy as he'd been when she told him she loved him – possibly more. The Scorpius and Rose in her vision didn't look much older than the ones Rose was used to seeing.

When she came back to the present, Scorpius was almost nose-to-nose with her and his hands were on her shoulders. "Your eyes went all unfocused, are you all right?"

Rose made a quick decision to keep what she'd just seen from him. She leaned back slightly so she didn't have to sit there practically cross-eyed just to see his face.

"You just saw something and aren't going to tell me what it was," he said flatly, pulling back to a reasonable distance.

Sometimes it was scary how easy he could read her. She nodded.

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Was it at least something good?"

"Yes, very good." She leaned over and kissed him.

"I can't wait to find out what I did to earn that," he said. His eyes had darkened slightly and he was looking at Rose as if he'd like nothing more than to pounce on her.

"Get to work on reading my tea leaves." She waved her hand in the general direction of her teacup. Pouncing was all well and good, but she was going to make him read her leaves first; it was only fair.

With a tiny pout he only ever allowed her to see, he started doing as she'd asked. Rose idly wondered how her father could ever have thought that Scorpius was evil. Misunderstood, maybe, but there was nothing bad about him or his father.

"Have you told your mum about your talent yet?" Scorpius asked with a slightly evil grin as he glanced back and forth between her cup and the textbook. He knew Rose had been dreading breaking it to her logical mum that she caught glimpses of the future.

Rose glared; maybe her father's initial assessment hadn't been so far off the mark. Scorpius took too much enjoyment in her mother's disbelief in seers. "I sent a letter. She responded back asking if I'd been eating or drinking anything Uncle George gave me."

A laugh was startled out of him. "What'd she say after you reassured her it was the truth?"

Subtly, Rose sent a stinging hex his way. When he jumped and glared, the redhead laughed loudly.

"It's that attitude that's going to get you a failing grade in Divination," he said, mocking Professor Trelawney's voice. "You don't take Divination seriously."

"I don't try hard enough to access the beyond," Rose muttered, quoting what their owlish professor was almost constantly telling her. Rose was in danger of failing Divination, something Scorpius found hilarious. It was made even more hilarious to him by the fact that he was receiving top marks in the class.

"Maybe if you tell your mum you're failing Divination despite the fact that you're an actual seer, she'll believe you," Scorpius suggested, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

When he saw her reaching for her wand under the table again, he quickly changed the subject. "Did you tell your mum about us being together?"

"Yes. She wasn't exactly surprised, but she did tell me to wait and tell dad about us in person. She thinks it'll go better if he doesn't have time to seethe before he sees me."

Scorpius snorted. "The only one who's going to be surprised is probably your dad."

"Do your parents know?" Rose was a little worried about what his parents would think of their Pureblooded son dating a Half-Blood. Mr. Malfoy had seemed willing enough to support her relationship with his son, but what if he had some sort of change of heart? It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility.

Scorpius tilted his head at her tea leaves and glanced back and forth between the cup and textbook a few times before answering.

"They know. All Father said was 'you're an idiot for taking so long and your mother hasn't stopped squealing like a schoolgirl since she heard'."

They shared a laugh at Mr. Malfoy's straightforward humour.

What Scorpius didn't say was that Draco had also added "And, for the sake of my sanity, wait a while before you marry the girl. It would just set off your mother again and I have a feeling she won't stop for months".

"What do the tea leaves say?" Rose asked, getting impatient. He'd been looking at them forever and didn't seem any closer to coming up with an answer.

Smirking, Scorpius reached into her teacup and pulled out a shiny silver key.

"They say that you have an astoundingly attractive, intelligent, charming-" when she cleared her throat, he cut the list of adjectives he'd thought up to describe himself and continued his sentence "-boyfriend who has a flat bought for when he graduates and takes that job at Malfoy Incorporated that's waiting for him. And this flat just wouldn't be complete without you in it."

Rose's eyebrows drew together. "Are you asking me to move in with you when we graduate?"

"You wouldn't have to live with your parents while you study to be an Unspeakable, and I certainly don't want to stay at the Manor. Apparently George Weasley has camped himself outside, occasionally prodding the wards and bombarding both my parents with questions about them." His hand stretched towards her, offering up the key. "Plus we wouldn't have to be secretive about our snogging," he added as an afterthought.

She didn't need the help of a vision to see a picture of her and Scorpius living happily together. Rose wasn't so naive to think that they wouldn't have problems occasionally, but they would be happy.

Instead of taking the key, Rose took his hand, pressing the metal between their palms. She tugged until he crawled on his knees over to her cushion.

Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

It was all the answer he needed. He slipped the key into her pocket before pressing her back into the cushions and kissing her properly.

"I'm taking this as a yes," he said, kissing her again before she could say anything else.

Rose was fine with that; she'd been getting around to saying yes anyway.

**The End**


End file.
